Internal pressure mounts at Aston Martin: ''That makes the team weaker''

Aston Martin has been pretty critical in recent weeks about this season's rules and even threatened to take legal action. In his column for The Race, Gary Anderson explains why the pressure from above may be costing Aston Martin its head.

Problems at Aston Martin

Aston Martin is certain that the new rules for 2021 have not been implemented correctly. Where all teams have had to adapt to the new rules, Aston Martin has fallen way back and now seems to be blaming the rules for that. Anderson, however, thinks there is more to it than that.

''To cry foul now is in my opinion a weak excuse for not identifying the development direction required to optimise the car for the rule changes. Aston Martin has been the most vocal critic and it seems very obvious where that is coming from. I have been involved in a team where management pressure overcomes its technical ability'', says Anderson.

Stroll creates pressure

The former designer for Jordan, Jaguar and Stewart, sees the pressure on the team increasing since the arrival of Lawrence Stroll. ''There has to be a certain amount of patience and long-term planning. I’m sure Lawrence Stroll is very keen to see his team winning more races as soon as possible, but this isn’t the right way to go about it.''

''I am afraid it risks imploding from management pressure when it really should be on course to get to the front. The best thing for the Aston Martin team now is to look at the big picture, focus on getting the most from this year’s car and learning everything it can. You have to get everything right to be successful in F1 and choose which battles to fight. Right now, pressure from the top will only make the team weaker'', concludes Anderson.