Canadian Grand Prix

Major Aston Martin upgrades inspired by Red Bull floor, explains F1 aero expert

After a poor performance at the Spanish Grand Prix last time out, Aston Martin have brought major upgrades to Canada

Shubham Sangodkar

Saturday 17 June 2023 12:57

Aston Martin impressed us with their quick start to the season but over the last couple of races they have started falling behind Mercedes and Ferrari as these teams brought their big upgrades.

In Barcelona, the Astons were beaten purely on pace by both the Mercedes, but Montreal seems like the opportunity for the Silverstone-based outfit to launch their counterattack.

Aston Martin are looking to hit back with new upgrades after struggling in Spain (above) last time out

Aston Martin Floor Upgrade

Aston Martin have brought a major upgrade to their new floor. To begin with, the floor edge is completely changed hinting at large changes underneath as well. The front floor edge now features multiple gurneys and up-washing elements which generate local load and drive outwash from underneath the front floor improving flow expansion and lower wheel wake control around corners.

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The rear floor edge now features a bump, this could either possibly house an ice-skate device underneath as was used by Red Bull last year that adds vorticity to the diffuser or can be used to house the rear floor edge vortex and merge it with the primary floor vortex. The rear floor also has an up-washing flick in front of the rear tyre.

Aston Martin SharkFin Upgrade

The shark fin is an area of development which has been relatively simple for the 2022 regulations. However, engineers at Aston Martin have come up with a novel design. The sharper shark fin is a yaw-sensitive device as its characteristics change with yaw. The vortex formed from the edge would be used to suppress cooling and cockpit losses to improve rear wing efficiency and due to the nature of the vortex the effects will be asymmetric.

Aston Martin Sidepod Upgrades

The AMR23 is most uniquely known on the grid for their aggressive waterslides. This is Aston Martin's way of delivering high-energy air to the rear of the car, making the car aerodynamics less sensitive to yaw by using the tunnel and the sidewall. The waterslides are now narrower and start further rearwards but their exit point is pretty much the same.

Comparing the front view of the AMR23 with RB19 we can see that the team has clearly taken inspiration from the Milton Keynes outfit to evolve their undercut design such that it has a smooth transition and extends rearwards.

This as we have seen with the Red Bull flow viz very powerful in delivering air to the rear of the car, specifically to the diffuser and gap between the tyre and the diffuser (Managing rear tyre squish) which are big performance areas.

Shubham Sangodkar is a former F1 Aerodynamicist with a Master's in Racing Car Design specialising in F1 Aerodynamics and F1 Data Analysis. He also posts aerodynamics content on his YouTube channel, which can be found here.