Lance delivers StatesideLance delivers Stateside

AMF1 Team Technical Director Dan Fallows looks forward to the triple-header, the ongoing development of AMR23, and the changes happening back at the AMR Technology Campus.

In Qatar, Fernando scored points and Lance came close to the top 10. What are your reflections on our performance in the Qatar Sprint and Grand Prix?

"Qatar was a mixed weekend with the Sprint, the difficulties with the track surface, and the limit of 18 laps per set of tyres in the Grand Prix. It was a challenge for everybody. We deliberately saved Medium tyres going into Sunday's Grand Prix, which was a key decision. It's possible that hampered our chances to score points in the Sprint, but we knew that was going to be the trade-off. Overall, I think it was a good weekend with Fernando finishing sixth, but Lance was unfortunate to get penalties that dropped him out of his top 10 finish on track."

Given the hot conditions and the minimum of three stops for our drivers, how do you rate the job done by the rest of the team?

"It was a very, very, challenging weekend given the incredibly hot conditions. It's extraordinary that our team performed some of their most competitive pitstops. That's something we've been targeting and the team did a commendable job. It's well-publicised that every driver was struggling in the conditions which the FIA has agreed to investigate."

How do you think we'll fare at the Circuit of The Americas, which hosts the fifth Sprint of the season?

"COTA is a challenging circuit where we'll continue to learn about the AMR23. We have some updates coming into the weekend, and we're quite interested to see how they work. In some ways its a shame that it's a Sprint weekend because we’d like to have more time to dial in those updates and see how the cars will perform. It will be a big challenge to gain that understanding as early as possible. We're looking forward to seeing how these upgrades perform and, hopefully, it's a track where we should be reasonably competitive if we can get everything right."

The United States Grand Prix is the first leg of a triple-header that will also see us race in Mexico and Brazil. How important are these three Grands Prix for us?

"This is quite a critical time of the year for us to get the most out of this year's car but also further our understanding for next year's development, which is why we're still producing updates this late into the season. Mexico is a real challenge with its high altitude, and Brazil can be a chaotic race – especially with the changeable weather – so we have to make the most out of every session ahead of us."

How hard has it been to score on a consistent basis this season given how close the majority of the field is?

"It's easy to underplay how difficult it is to get to the position we're in now with more points than this team has ever previously scored in a season. The field has closed up so much during the campaign and the gaps to the leaders are now much smaller while the whole midfield is as tight as it's ever been. It will be interesting to see whether this carries on into next year."

Is it disappointing that we haven't maintained our podium-scoring form from the early part of the season?

"We did have a very good start to the season, and we've obviously been disappointed with the way it's panned out in recent races, but this experience has enabled us to learn some valuable lessons which we're trying to take into next year – we can see where we went wrong in terms of upsetting the car balance. We've understood why that's hurt our overall performance. Now, it's a question of making sure that we don't make the same mistakes again; it’s certainly been a year of learning."

With phases two and three of the AMR Technology Campus progressing rapidly, and our team growing in preparation for the next era of F1 powertrains and our works partnership with Honda, how excited are you for what's to come?

"The upcoming triple header and the months beyond are a really exciting time for the team. We've come a long way and the progress has been clear to see on the track and at our new Technology Campus. It's a testament to the team's ambition and how far we've come that we are disappointed by our results in recent races. That only serves to motivate us, and the work of everybody at our Campus is evidence of that. We're starting to see real possibilities of achieving the goals we've set for ourselves in the long term."

In Formula One, you're constantly learning. Every lap, every mile, every second, is an opportunity to further your understanding and, ultimately, discover ways to unlock performance. In partnership with XP Inc., here are some of the key points for the United States Grand Prix.