By Tammi Fairbairn
The Growing Crisis at Aston Martin F1
From the beginning of the season, Aston Martin has faced significant challenges. Their car has struggled to endure the demands of racing, with drivers reporting a loss of sensation in their hands while driving. Unfortunately, the team seems set up for failure, and a major turnaround has not been seen.
The first two races of the season resulted in a double DNFs, and Lance Stroll also failed to finish in Japan. Neither Stroll or Fernando Alonso have bagged any points this season, nor have they come close to finishing in the points.
After the Canadian Grand Prix, Aston Martin does not seem to be improving in the slightest. This has led to concerns being risen and attention being drawn elsewhere.
A mix-up regarding signage by Bell has linked Jonathan Wheatley, former team principal at Audi, with Aston Martin. He is now the main candidate to take over at Aston Martin once his leave period concludes at Aston.
Aston Martin also gained attention when Red Bull lost their main man in Adrian Newey to Aston. Newey was the mastermind behind the cars that have won the past four championships. All eyes were on Aston to create potentially the next winning championship car. Yet, Newey has not been seen on the pit wall for some weeks now and he has also not been seen at the factory. One has to wonder whether he regrets his decision to move?
But what has caused this poor run of performance?
The Honda engine has caused major issues for the Silverstone based team. In testing, the vibrations from the engine have caused several issues. One of them being, the battery has been shaken around meaning that the drivers had barely any power left to complete laps. Additionally, components such as mirrors and taillights have fallen off as well.
This is not the first time the Honda package has faced issues keeping up with the regulatory compliance. In 2014, Mclaren had to endure with years of bad runs, marking some of their worst in their entire history.
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