Mike Krack says changes to Aston Martin's AMR23 car earlier in the season created side-effects they had not expected; Team hoping to be back in hunt behind Red Bull over rest of campaign; 2023 season resumes at Dutch GP from August 25, live on Sky Sports F1
Tuesday 8 August 2023 06:01, UK
Aston Martin admit they have to turn the narrative in F1's development race when the season resumes at the end of August as they bid to halt their slide in the battle behind Red Bull.
The big-surprise package of the F1 season's early months slipped back in the fight behind the runaway leaders in the rounds before F1's summer break, with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all showing superior speed.
And while Aston Martin's points tally and lofty championship position remain a world away from where they were this time last year, team boss Mike Krack said they are determined to maintain competitiveness among their new-found company.
Describing the team's poor performance in the penultimate round before the summer break in Hungary as a "reality check", Krack says they have a clear focus for improvement in the final 10 rounds of the season.
"After lots of analysis in the aftermath of Budapest we understand the changes we need to make," the team principal said in an interview with Aston Martin's website.
"We've improved less than the others so now it's up to us to improve more than them."
Overtaken by Mercedes for second place in the Constructors' Championship at the start of June, Aston Martin headed into the break only five points ahead of fourth-placed Ferrari.
But Krack insists the lost ground in terms of absolute performance has not been as dramatic as it may have seemed.
"We've lost small amounts compared to our competitors and as an engineer, that makes you disappointed, but it's the qualifying and finishing positions that give the perception that we've dropped back massively when in reality we haven't," said Krack.
"Our competitors have just improved more than us and jumped into that gap between us and Red Bull.
"We're constantly pushing the development, and these cars are so complex that any change will impact other areas of the car - there are side-effects. Very few changes you make to the car work in isolation.
"We made a change earlier in the season and didn't anticipate it having some of the side-effects that it did. It wasn't until after several races at different types of circuits that we realised how it was influencing the car.
"The upgrades we have put on the car have worked, and the numbers are where they should be - but I think the results over the last few races are representative of where we are."
The Aston Martin team principal added: "I expect the second half of the season to see more close racing with the advantage swinging back and forth again."
The team did sign off for the four-week break with a more encouraging race-day showing in Belgium, when Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Lance Stroll took ninth.
Just over a year after announcing the shock signing of Alonso from Alpine at the start of last season's summer break, Krack has been delighted by the impact the 42-year-old two-time champion has made.
"He's exceeded my expectations - and I had very high expectations," he said.
"It's not what he does on track - that I expected - but it's the way he has integrated into the team.
"He's been exactly what we needed him to be: constructive when you have to be constructive; challenging when you have to be challenging. Even critical when being critical is what will move us forward."
He added: "I'm not going to make a prediction about his 33rd victory, but we are incredibly determined to do everything we can to make it happen."
On Stroll, Krack said: "Lance hasn't had a lot of luck this year: aside from his broken bones [in a pre-season cycling accident], a few things have gone against him that really weren't his fault. The championship table tells a story, but inside the team we know what really happens."
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch GP and all sessions will be live on Sky Sports F1 on August 25-27. Stream Sky Sports F1 and more with NOW
