Aston Martin believes they have found a permanent solution to Baku DRS malfunction

Aston Martin had a DRS issue during the Azerbaijan F1 weekend, team boss Mike Krack says they have found a fix for it.

Aston Martin believes they have found a permanent solution to Baku DRS malfunction

Aston Martin's rear wing flap not opening on the main straight of Baku (Credits: The Race)

Aston Martin started the 2023 Formula One season strongly, with three podium finishes in the first three races. However, they faced challenges during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with their root problem being their Drag Reduction System (DRS) not opening, leading to a lower speed on the straights. The team has now found a permanent solution to the DRS issue, which affected them in Baku.

During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the Aston Martin team had to resort to a temporary solution, using grease to ease the wing’s opening. Team boss Mike Krack confirmed that a full analysis of the fault had been carried out and the issue had been resolved, saying, “I think we’ve solved the problem. We would have liked to have solved it sooner or not let it arise in the first place. But at the end of the day, it’s not a drama.” 

However, the team could not address the DRS issue at the Baku weekend due to parc-ferme rules. As per the rules, cars cannot be modified once they enter parc-ferme conditions. So instead, they used a quick-fix solution, cleaning the rear wing endplates with grease to ease the flap movement. “The car is in Parc Ferme; there’s not much you can do about it. We tried to clean the surfaces and check the gap dimensions, everything” said Aston Martin’s team principal.

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Aston Martin and Red Bull cars
Aston Martin and Red Bull cars (Credits: Sky Sports F1)

Aston Martin has been dubbed “The Green Bull” due to the similarities between their car and Red Bull’s last year’s challenger. The team recruited major key personnel from the Austrian team, and many have pointed out that the Green Bull has made a significant pace jump. However, Aston Martin’s DRS issue, one of Red Bull’s main problems last year, seems to have carried over to the new team.

Aston Martin was the second-fastest team before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, they were outclassed by Ferrari during the Azerbaijan GP weekend, finishing nearly a second behind poleman Charles Leclerc and finishing the main race on Sunday in fourth and seventh place from Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. While many attributed the team’s struggles to their DRS flap not working, Krack insists that it was not just the DRS issue that caused the lag. “It was more of a distraction than a real disadvantage because the DRS worked on the backstretch so obviously it was just a small penalty, but in both the sprint and the race, it worked,” Krack said.

Krack also confirmed that he is not an aerodynamicist and would need to wait for the full analysis before drawing any conclusions as to exactly how the DRS issue arose. However, he expressed hope that the problem had been fixed and that the team would perform better in Miami. “Maybe I can say that in Miami,” Krack said.

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