© Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says Aston Martin “hired a Red Bull man who managed to make the car suddenly two seconds faster”.
Aston Martin impressed everybody at the first race of the 2023 season in Bahrain, where the team was even faster than Mercedes.
While Aston Martin uses the engine, gearbox and rear suspension components from Mercedes, it is believed that an aerodynamic concept change from 2022 to 2023 allowed the team to make such a huge leap in performance.
Some observers are even pointing out the similarities between Red Bull’s successful car concept and this year’s Aston Martin.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko suggested that this was due to his team’s former head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows moving to Aston Martin in 2022, to become the team’s technical director.
In a talk with the Osterreich newspaper, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said the same thing.
“They did a really good job,” the Austrian said.
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“They hired a Red Bull man who managed to make the car suddenly two seconds faster. A year ago they were 17th and 19th in qualifying.
“We knew that Alonso was strong and motivated, but even Lance Stroll was up the front with two broken hands and a broken toe. That proves how good the car is.
“I’ve never seen a jump like this in Formula 1.
Wolff also joked that, as an Aston Martin shareholder, he is pleased that the company’s share price jumped 15% after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I hope the share price keeps going up,” he laughed.
