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Aston Martin have confirmed they will not introduce any further major upgrade packages for their AMR26 car during the current Formula 1 campaign, according to trackside performance chief Mike Krack.
The Silverstone-based outfit is enduring an extremely difficult season, languishing near the back of the grid. With a tally of just three points, Aston Martin sit second from bottom in the constructors' standings, ahead of only debutants Cadillac heading into the final stretch of the championship.
The British team's major update package debuted earlier this year at the Hungarian Grand Prix and will remain their only significant overhaul of the season.
"Enrico Cardile was very clear that we will not be bringing another major upgrade package," Krack explained. "However, if we get useful data from the wind tunnel, we will take small steps, similar to those at Monza. We are talking about minor tweaks to the floor or deflectors. We will continue with these fine details, but there won't be another big package."
Although the updates introduced in Budapest provided a slight performance boost, the team's struggles have persisted. Hungary remains the last race where both of the team's cars managed to reach the chequered flag.
Krack explained the difficulty of objectively assessing progress when rivals are also constantly developing:
"Ultimately, the track simply validates the test data and simulations carried out at the factory. Sometimes you appear more or less competitive, and people often attribute that directly to new or old components. However, we must not forget that the rivals we measure ourselves against aren't standing still either. Other teams are also updating their cars."
"When you compare yourself to them, you never know for sure whether they have improved or we have dropped off the pace. Analysing these factors takes a lot of time and is done back at the factory, not at the track. That is why it requires extremely precise analysis," Krack concluded.
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