Toto Wolff has revealed that Aston Martin F1’s winter gains benefited Mercedes as they looked to improve their W14, as it meant they could rule out shared components as the source of the problem.
Finishing last year’s championship in seventh place after only scoring 55 points, Aston Martin has surged to the front of the chasing pack behind Red Bull at the start of this season.
Fernando Alonso has made six podium appearances in the first eight Grands Prix.
“They gained two seconds in six months and their car is half the size of ours, from the engine to the gearbox and rear suspension. And the same wind tunnel,” explains the Mercedes F1 team boss.
“It was really good that Aston Martin was so competitive at the start of the season.”
“Because at least for us, it clearly showed that the rear end isn’t the problem, the gearbox isn’t the problem, the engine isn’t the problem, the rear suspension isn’t the problem. We need to look elsewhere.”
“And that’s why I like having teams on the same specifications.”
But these shared parts are not Wolff’s only hope.
“The second thing is that the step they have made since last year, when they were one of the slowest teams until the start of the season where they were clearly number two, shows that if you unleash potential, then you can take a big step forward.”
“That’s exactly what we need to find. So we’re going to take a step of two and a half seconds like they did so well.”