The Silverstone-based squad started the 2023 campaign as Red Bull’s closest challenger, scoring six podiums in eight rounds.
But since Fernando Alonso's second in Canada, it has dropped back in to the chasing pack as others like McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have made rapid progress.
There has also been a fascinating change in its performance profile as an early season strength in low-speed corners appears to have vanished, with it no longer a Red Bull rival at the slower circuits.
While Alonso suggested over the Hungary weekend that a change in tyre specification from the British GP could have been a factor, Aston Martin’s senior management are sceptical of that.
Instead, speaking ahead of the Belgian GP, team principal Mike Krack said that the team had now concluded that a combination of car upgrades and set-up choices had triggered some “side effects” for the AMR23.
“The way we have developed the car, it's very complex,” he said.
“You change one thing, but you never change one thing and everything else is fine. You always have side effects when you do changes.
“And you need to weigh up: do you use, for example, a part that makes more downforce but has a different character, or vice versa. And we think that in one or two situations we have done not the right choice.”
Source: Autosport