16/07/2025 15:40
Aston Martin reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne has outlined that the
British outfit requires "a little bit of time" before all its
recent investments result in a giant on track performance boost.
The Silverstone-based outfit has endured a mixed F1 campaign, but
has enjoyed stronger results in recent races with both Fernando
Alonso and Lance Stroll. As revealed by Vandoorne, further
upgrades are in the pipeline, despite the new power unit
regulations being just around the corner. Next season represents a
significant change for Aston Martin, as it will become a Honda
works team and leave the title of being a 'customer' squad. Recent
huge signing Adrian Newey is busy at work designing its 2026 car,
although Vandoorne has insisted that a sudden jump to the front
cannot be expected, particularly with so much being unknown
surrounding the new regulations. Reflecting on Aston Martin's
season so far and looking ahead to the final 12 rounds, Vandoorne
said in a RacingNews365 interview: "Yeah, definitely in the last
couple of races we've seen some better performances. "There's
still a lot of work to do and a lot of things where we're trying
still and bringing updates to the car, but little by little, we're
getting better. We're more in the mix. "The field is just so
incredibly close that a couple of tenths one weekend to another can
really turn around your results, so it's about optimising that and
making sure that we extract absolutely everything out of the car.
"Obviously, the big focus is 2026, with Adrian having arrived in
the team, his focus is pretty much fully on that, let's say, but
it's also going to require a little bit of time. Next year is a
huge change in regulations. No one really knows exactly what to
expect. "Like, it's that unpredictable right now, but he's
obviously someone that has the expertise, that has the CV, the
knowledge, and the brains to be able to come up with something
really good. So, yeah, it will be interesting to see how next year
will be." Aston Martin 'growing' quickly Aston Martin owner
Lawrence Stroll has not only been investing in the team's
employees, but also in its facilities. The squad has a brand-new
base, new wind tunnel and simulators, all of which also requires
time to get into the right window of how the team operates. "The
focus obviously, the team is growing," added Vandoorne. "We've got
the new facilities right now. We've got new simulators, new wind
tunnel. "All of that came quite quickly. The team also kind of
doubled in size in the last two, three years. "And it takes a
little bit of time for an organisation to suddenly ramp up the way
of working. One thing in Formula 1 you need is time. Unfortunately,
you can't buy the time. "But I'm sure that everything is in place
now for it to be very successful, whether that will be next year,
it's hard to know. But, we've got everything there. We've got the
people, we've got the facilities and the only way is forward."
