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Mercedes, Aston have track time as Ferrari continue on too

  • Darshan Chokhani
    • Mercedes, Aston Martin, F1

    Mercedes and Aston Martin has their first track run for the 2023 F1 season, as Ferrari continued theirs.

    After finishing off its launch early in the morning, Mercedes had the Silverstone track for themselves for mini filming day, much like how Ferrari utilised their launch event. The F1 team only did a 15 km demonstration run with George Russell driving.

    They have a full 100 km run planned for Thursday when Lewis Hamilton will also have his chance in the F1 W14. For the Wednesday mini run, some reports suggested of misfire on the engine side, but Russell managed to get through the run plan.

    They were not alone on the circuit with Aston Martin on track with the AMR23 for a full 100 km run plan. But the team were clever too, as they did not use the full circuit but the national configuration which allowed them to have more laps for each driver.

    Lance Stroll started the day on the full wet tyres before switching to dry compounds to complete 17 laps in all, while Fernando Alonso jumped in the car around afternoon to complete 16 laps ahead of their next official run in the pre-season test in Bahrain.

    “Taking the AMR23 out for the very first time was a special moment and the car felt good,” said Stroll. “Everything was working as expected and running smoothly which is the most important thing as we prepare for the upcoming test in Bahrain.

    “We know there is always plenty to be learnt at the start of the year, but we made a strong start this morning and I really enjoyed being back behind the wheel. There’s nothing quite like putting your right foot down in a brand new Formula One car after a long winter break!”

    His new teammate Alonso noted: “It was a good day and I enjoyed getting to drive the AMR23 for the very first time. It’s nice to be back and feel the speed of a Formula One car after some time away from it. We completed lots of things today because it’s a filming day and we got through our plan smoothly.

    “We only have to wait until testing next week and we will get to know our car better there and understand more of where the competition is after the winter. We only have one and a half days each to get up to speed with everything in Bahrain, so we have to maximise the time we have with the car.”

    And finally, team’s performance director Tom McCullough added: “We are pleased with how our filming day has gone as it’s a huge effort to get to this point in any pre-season. After much anticipation, it’s great to see the AMR23 on track for the first time with Lance and Fernando at the wheel today.

    “It started off very cold and the track was a bit damp, but we largely had a good day with the weather. The car is around 95% different to last year, so it’s good to see it hit the track and everything run smoothly. There is a good energy around the team and we are all pushing in the same direction. The real competition starts soon though and we have a very short space of time to get to Bahrain testing next week.”

    Aside from Mercedes and Aston Martin, Ferrari continued its run plan with the SF-23 at Fiorano. Having done only a 15 km demonstration run on Tuesday, the Italian manufacturer had a full 100 km with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on Thursday.

    https://twitter.com/AstonMartinF1/status/1625867199180054531?s=20

    https://twitter.com/AstonMartinF1/status/1625888832183844865?s=20

    https://twitter.com/AstonMartinF1/status/1625826329143697409?s=20

    https://twitter.com/AstonMartinF1/status/1625927919695429638?s=20

    https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/1625822485462626305?s=20

    https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/1625925881427361792?s=20

    https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/1625935580994408454?s=20

    portrait, Silverstone Circuit, F12305a, F1, GP, Great BritainLance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
    action, TS-Live, Silverstone Circuit, F12305a, F1, GP, Great BritainLance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23
    action, Silverstone Circuit, F12305a, F1, GP, Great BritainFernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23
    portrait, TS-Live, Silverstone Circuit, F12305a, F1, GP, Great BritainFernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, in cockpit

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    Here’s 2023 Aston Martin car

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    Here’s Eric Blandin on different Aston Martin for 2023

    Here’s Ferrari undergoing demo run

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    Here’s Frederic Vasseur on Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz