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F1 pundit Mark Hughes mentioned that varied corner speeds at the Hungaroring might have played a factor in Aston Martin struggling throughout the entire weekend at the 2023 Hungarian GP.
The British team locked out the final positions in the main race as Fernando Alonso led his teammate Lance Stroll. Heading into the weekend, Aston Martin was confident that the track layout might suit their car as the circuit is known as 'Monaco without walls' and they had performed well in the principality earlier this season.
While appearing on The Race podcast, Hughes pointed out that the Silverstone-based team has fallen behind their rivals in terms of development recently. He said:
"Aston have lost its way and looked to have moved into some direction that they have taken or development that they have made isn't working. It was consistently the second or third-fastest car throughout the first part of the season And in the last three or four races, it has nowhere near been that. I don't know and they give every appearance that they don't either."
"It's quite a puzzle. There are aspects of the Hungaroring that could've been troubling for it. It has actually got a big spread of corner speeds. It's considered slow but it's not, it's a mixture of slow and medium corners. And when it has shown before when the spread of corner speeds is too big, it [Aston Martin] struggles and it has something to do with its aerodynamic mapping,"
Aston Martin F1 Team Principal analyzes the 2023 Hungarian GP
Mike Krack stated that both drivers couldn't get the maximum out of the package in Budapest and recognized that the car simply lacked the performance that they had hoped for.
As per F1.com, Aston Martin F1 team boss said:
"Both Lance and Fernando performed very well, but we are missing the performance to challenge higher up. Lance did particularly well to finish just behind Fernando from his initial grid position. Today is a reality check. We need to keep our heads down, keep working hard, and push through the developments to get back to where we were earlier in the season.”
Heading to Spa Francorchamps this weekend, it looks highly unlikely that Aston Martin will be the team that challenges Red Bull. This might be due to the long straights and limited slow-speed corners. However, it will be interesting to see if they do move a bit further up in terms of results before the summer break.
