Aston Martin won the 2024 world championship… of updates, admits Cowell

Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell admits that while the team led the way in producing upgrades last season, they simply didn’t have the desired effect.

The opening stage of 2023, when Fernando Alonso made numerous visits to the podium, seemed a lifetime ago as the Silverstone based outfit struggled, unable to keep touch with the big guns while effectively clear of the midfield battle involving Alpine, Haas and RB.

Like Red Bull, the team only really had one driver firing on all cylinders, but unlike the RB20 the AMR24 lacked pace, and while upgrades to the car came thick and fast throughout the season they didn’t improve performance.

“There is no lack of effort throughout the team,” says Cowell. “We definitely won the world championship for the most updates in 2024, but those updates didn’t deliver the lap time – and what everybody wants in this business is to deliver lap time.

“That’s not to say we must get it right every time,” he adds. “I’ve seen statistics that show that in true research and development environments, a 20% success rate is high. If we can get a 20% success rate then that’s good, but the difference is that this needs to happen at the AMR Technology Campus and not at the track.”

No expense is being spared by Lawrence Stroll in his bid to make Astoin Martin a championship winning team, and at the core of his dream is the technology campus, which is not yet fully online.

“We need to make sure that all our tools and processes at the Technology Campus are working well enough to ensure that whenever we take an update to the circuit, we are at least 90% certain that it’s going to work on the track and meet our expectations,” says Cowell.

“It’s not easy to achieve, but it’s what we need to be aiming for,” he continues. “We’ve got very powerful CFD tools and the most advanced wind tunnel in the sport coming online.

“They are only simulations,” he admits, “and there will always be the risk of data not quite matching up with what we find on the circuit, but our simulations can give us a robust steer and I’m confident we can get to the point where we’re right 90% of the time.

“That’s the level that world championship-winning teams are operating at so that needs to be our aim at a minimum.

“We can’t just give Lance and Fernando a car that’s quick down the straights,” he adds, “we need to give them a car that’s quick through the corners, a car that’s quick everywhere – a car that’s faster than anyone else’s. Can you imagine what it would feel like if we did have the fastest car…?”

Of course, that is the aim of every team on the grid, and the opposition isn’t standing still.

“Every team is trying to set itself up for success with the significant change in the regulations, and you’ve also got a collection of power unit manufacturers that need to react to the regulation changes as best as possible,” says the former Mercedes man.

“We’ve got to respect the fact that we’re up against some mighty opposition, who are very well established. Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, these teams are exceptionally strong and, along with every other team on the grid, they will view these regulation changes as an opportunity.

“We can’t control what they do. We can only control what we do. We’ve got to run our own race, focus on our objectives, our targets, and put all the pieces of the puzzle together as best as possible to seize the opportunity that 2026 presents.”

Ah, 2026, when Aston Martin teams up with Honda as the new engine regulations come into effect, not to mention the first of the team’s cars penned by a certain Mr Newey.

“2026 is a huge opportunity for us,” he admits, “but it’s not just about ’26, it’s about ’27 and ’28 and ’29 and ’30. It’s about building a team that can achieve sustained success.

“Yes, ’26 is important but it’s just another step on the journey. 2025 is also an important step on our journey and we are focused on improving our performance this year and carrying positive momentum into 2026.

“We mustn’t underestimate the scale of the challenge to bring all these elements together. We’ve got to make the transition from a customer team to a works team at the same time as the new regulations come into play, and we’ve got to design and manufacture our own gearbox along with other components of the car that have previously been supplied to us by Mercedes.”

In the meantime, British tabloid, the Daily Mail, claims that Aston Martin is lining up a £1bn bid for the services of Max Verstappen. While the team hasn’t officially reacted to the story, the fact is that – all else aside, not least the fact that this is the Daily Mail – the Dutchman, despite having a contract until 2028 with Red Bull, will want to be in a car that offers him the best chance of another title. It remains to be seen if Cowell, Newey, Honda and Stroll Snr can provide that car.