The huge and almost exorbitant investment that has been made Aston Martin has been one of the main reasons why Fernando Alonso has abandoned Alpine to embark on what will probably be his last adventure in Formula 1.
signing of the Red Bull and Mercedes ‘gurus’new factory… and the wind tunnel of 232 million euros; Aston Martin he wants to reach the top of the ‘Great Circus’ and he wants to do it as soon as possible.
Speaking to ‘Motorsport’, Dan Fallowstechnical director and former head of aerodynamics for energy drinks, has set dates in the medium term.
“The goal for the wind tunnel is to have it operational at mid 2024. We hope it will have at least some contribution to the 2025 ( car of the season),” she explained.
Currently, Aston Martin shares a wind tunnel with Mercedesbut they are confident that by 2025 the first single-seater designed entirely by themselves will arrive.
“I think depending on how the start-up and tunnel things go, the 2025 car will probably be the first car in which the new tunnel will have a significant impact“Fallows said.
“As for the factory itself, it will be up and running next year with several stages, so we hope that the previous cars (to 2025) also benefit from the new factory“, has added.
The arrival of the wind tunnel will be a “world class” tool in order to face the giants of Formula 1although said process requires burning different stages.
“Inevitably, when you build a wind tunnel you have to go through a start-up process. And that really is just to check what will give you the numbers that you expect to see.”
“We are lucky to be testing in the Mercedes wind tunnel, which is a very high-quality facility, so we need to make sure our new facility is giving results that are consistent with them”has added.
That is why, with a view to 2015, Aston Martin is very ambitious: “There is no doubt that it will be a world class facilityand having access to that 24/7 if you need to, is obviously very important.”
“Having your own facilities means you can also do other experiments, which is invaluable. And it’s something that we don’t necessarily have the luxury of doing at the moment, sharing the tunnel with another team.”
The question is: Will Fernando Alonso be at Aston Martin in 2025? The two-time world champion Formula 1 has a contract, at least, until 2024but as slipped in some recent statements, His idea is to run in 2025… and in 2026.