Aston Martin's Eric Blandin talks progress, development and future of the AMR23

The Aston Martin F1  is gearing up for their latest challenger, the AMR23.
In an interview for the official Aston Martin F1 website, Deputy Technical Director Eric Blandin gave us an inside look at the progress of the AMR23 and what fans can expect from the car on launch day.

Blandin confirmed that the AMR23 is on schedule and that the aerodynamic surfaces of the launch-spec car have been passed on to the drawing office for finalization.

But the launch of the car is just the beginning for the AMF1 team. As Blandin emphasized, "Launch is important, but it's only a stepping stone; we need to develop the car throughout the campaign."

The team is focused on delivering an ambitious program of updates throughout the season, with 80% of Blandin's time currently spent on the aero department.

One of the key areas of focus for the AMR23 is addressing the porpoising that hindered the performance of last year's car, the AMR22.

While Blandin acknowledged that the issue is inherent within the current set of regulations, he also expressed confidence that the team has learned from last year's challenges and have made the necessary adjustments to the AMR23's concept.

Blandin also addressed rumors that the team's simulation tools had misled them with their initial concept for the AMR22.

He explained that while the team continues to use the same tools, the key is in how they extract and use the data. "Simulating the problem is complicated," he said. "It's not simply a case of running the car in the wind tunnel to see whether it will porpoise.

"It's a dynamic problem and throughout the 2022 campaign, we advanced our understanding of this new generation of F1 cars."

When asked about the launch itself, Blandin assured fans that the AMR23 will be the real deal, with the car set to be unveiled at the team's new factory in Silverstone on February 13th. "We're not going to disappoint fans," he said.

Blandin also added, "We’ve implemented a few clever innovations on the new car – they’re the icing on the cake. They’re a nice-to-have, but not a must-have,” hinting that the team might have some surprises for the fans and for the competitors as well.