No backtrack on Imola upgrade despite Aston Martin decline
Mike Krack affirms that Aston Martin will not be retracting the latest significant upgrade to their Formula 1 car.
Mike Krack affirms that Aston Martin will not be retracting the latest significant upgrade to their Formula 1 car.
Dan Fallows, the team’s technical director, arrived at Imola boasting an “aggressive” upgrade for the cars driven by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. While Stroll managed to earn two points, Alonso experienced a disappointing finish, qualifying and ending the race in 19th position.
Flavio Briatore, Alonso’s advisor, commented that it seems the team is going “backwards.”
Team leader Krack acknowledges: “We have homework to do and a lot to work on.”
“We certainly see that this year the margins are getting smaller and as soon as you are on the wrong side of these small margins… it’s just so close,” he was cited by Spanish media.
Krack contests the view that Aston Martin has been regressing since their strong start in the 2023 season, where Alonso achieved a remarkable sequence of podium finishes.
“In Shanghai we were third on the grid,” Krack remarked. “So it hasn’t been very long.”
He mentioned that Aston Martin is on par with their primary rivals in terms of development pace.
“The other teams had the same list of improvements (at Imola). But we are not happy with two points, that’s clear,” the German stated.
“Expectations are very high from last year. We try to be objective, but it’s difficult. With eight podiums, the bar is very high.”
“But we have to understand how those podiums came about. Some teams had not done their homework when we had, and that put us in a position that we were not prepared for as a team. So we have to be realistic.”
Thus, he refuted claims that the “aggressive” upgrade at Imola was such a flop that the team should consider reverting to previous configurations to avoid hitting a developmental impasse.
“No, the update is definitely a step forward,” Krack insists. “There is no need to remove it.”
Despite the setback, Alonso’s performance last year in Monaco, where he finished second to Max Verstappen, lingers in memory. However, Alonso is concerned that a similar qualifying outcome to Imola could turn the upcoming Monaco race into “torture.”
Krack optimistically stated: “Yes, Monaco last year was Monaco last year. Now, Monaco this year is Monaco this year. So we will go there and see.”
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