F1 pundit details the strengths and weaknesses of Aston Martin: "It is quicker than Red Bull in some corners"

F1 pundit Mark Hughes recently gave his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of Aston Martin and how they are faster than Red Bull in certain areas.

The green British team is performing exceptionally well in the 2023 F1 season. In both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GP, Fernando Alonso finished in third place, ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari drivers. They have taken the largest leap in F1 since 2022.

Speaking on The Race F1 Podcast, Mark Hughes explained how Aston Martin is the second fastest car on the grid after Red Bull. Although Mercedes and Ferrari are not far behind in terms of straight-line pace, they lag behind when it comes to cornering speeds.

Hughes claimed that the AMR23 is even faster than the Red Bull in some corners and said:

"It's the second-fastest car; it's not that far clear of the Mercedes and Ferrari on ultimate race pace, but in Saudi [Arabia], they [Aston Martin] managed to out-qualify them. When you look at where it's quick, it's very, very quick in corners; it's quicker than Red Bull on some corners. It's a draggier car."

Despite other top teams like Mercedes and Ferrari producing similar lap times to Aston Martin, it produces a lot of tire wear. Hence, the green British team is usually able to beat them in races. Hughes concluded:

"When you look at Mercedes and Ferrari, they lack the cornering speed but are almost as fast on the straight. So, they derive their lap times in a different way to the Aston but the Aston way of doing it compared to the Ferrari and Mercedes, seems to have made a car that is better on the tires and, you know, just a better proposition all around."

As of now, Aston Martin is right behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship table while Fernando Alonso is in third place in the drivers' championship table.

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Lewis Hamilton admits Red Bull's RB19 is the fastest car he has ever seen

Almost every driver has admitted that the Austrian-British team is on another level altogether. The same goes for the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Briton spoke about how the RB19 is the fastest car he has ever seen in terms of creating a gap from the rest of the field. He said:

"I don't know, it's not for me to say but I've never seen a car so fast. When we were fast, we weren't that fast. That's the fastest car I've seen compared to the rest, I don't know why or how but he [Max Verstappen] came past me with serious speed. I didn't even bother to block because there was a massive speed difference. I think everyone wants to see everyone close but it's the way it is. Not my problem or fault."

Red Bull have already started pulling away from the rest of the pack in the championship table. They comfortably sit at the top of the table with 87 points after just two races in the 2023 F1 season.