Aston Martin team principal reveals 'compromised' reason behind abandoned rear wing upgrade

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix 2024, Aston Martin launched a new upgrade in the lower-drag rear wing. It was bought in the hope of generating more pace and downforce at the grid. However, despite running it in practice sessions, the Silverstone-based team rolled it back in GP and Sprint races. 

Aston Martin’s enhancements in Miami revolved around a revamped rear wing, where they reverted to a more traditional endplate and tip section design. This shift unified the parts into a single surface, eliminating any disjointedness.

This design harkens back to the original intentions of the 2022 regulations before teams veered towards semi-detached variants. These alternatives have since become prevalent across the grid, addressing inefficiencies at the endplate and flap junction. 

Exploiting the alterations in the rear wing further, Aston Martin introduced a new beam wing configuration, utilizing a single element and reducing load and drag by scaling back the outer sections.

Here is why Aston Martin abandoned the upgrade!

Now, after the race, team principal Mike Krack spoke about it and explained why the team rolled its update back. Krack elaborated that the decision stemmed from the reduced downforce, which led to increased tyre sliding. With tyre temperature management being paramount for the weekend, both drivers favoured a car setup prioritizing tyre preservation over top speed, recognizing its critical importance.

He said, “It was more a decision that you make based on tyre behaviour. If you have a lot of sliding, you weigh up downforce against top speed. This is a permanent discussion in the office about whether to go up or to go down.”

“The drivers have their opinions because they have to try and pass - so we made that choice. If we started again, maybe the choice would be different. But the wing choice in the end was not the decisive factor”, he further added.