Aston Martin’s Team Principal Mike Krack opened up about the battle between Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in a media session this morning, ahead of this weekend’s race at Silverstone.
Photo credit: Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
This year’s car, the formidable AMR23, has brought Aston Martin into contention with the teams at the top of the grid.
Sitting third in the Constructors’ Standings, Aston Martin is 21 points ahead of Ferrari and only 3 points behind Mercedes.
When asked about the rival team’s performances and how competitive they will be at Silverstone, Krack sounded confident, saying, “To be honest, we do not bother too much about what the other two or three are doing. We are trying to optimise our car for the weekend to come.”
Krack has led the team from podium to podium this season, with six podium finishes in total, all won by Fernando Alonso.
Whilst discussing the tightly contested battle between the teams battling for 2nd, Krack noted that different cars suit the various tracks better than others, diversifying the race results from track to track.
Talking about this weekend’s upcoming event at the iconic British circuit, Krack said, “I think by now we can only conclude that these three teams are very close together, with Red Bull having an edge, and I think it will continue here.
Despite Red Bull’s dominance, Krack shed light on the benefits of the ongoing battle between the teams. He noted that “this is great for everybody and if other teams join that battle, it makes it harder for us, but I think it is more enjoyable for the sport.”
Krack elaborated on the current battle between the teams, noting that being in the position to have this discussion as a Team Principal is “really nice” as it exhibits the team’s evolution throughout the season.
He noted that “we should not forget that picture in the first place.”
The pecking order behind Red Bull has swung quite considerably at the last three races. In Spain, Mercedes clearly had the fastest race car. When they went to Canada, Alonso in the Aston Martin beat Hamilton in a straight fight. Last weekend in Austria, it was the turn of Ferrari to be the quickest team behind the Milton Keynes-based squad.
On this topic, Krack believes that Aston haven’t had the peaks and troughs compared to their main rivals in 2023.
“I think we have maybe the least variations so far this season.
“I think Ferrari was maybe struggling a bit more at the beginning. I think Mercedes is also struggling sometimes where we would not expect them to.
“We have the least variation which would maybe show that the car has no big weakness.”
When asked about Alonso’s observation that certain teams historically excel or underperform at specific circuits, Krack agreed: “It is interesting, and it is not wrong, it is observation.”
Despite these patterns, Krack expressed the desire to break out of them.
“We would like to break out of it, to be honest, but we have seen it happen again.”
He discussed the challenges that Aston Martin historically face at Austria’s Red Bull Ring and the progress the team made there this year.
“Austria is a very special circuit… we have not been particularly strong over the years there, we have been much stronger this year than last year.”
Despite this year’s progress, Krack acknowledged that Alonso is “correct” and that the team are dedicated to improve their weaknesses at certain venues and overcoming these historical patterns.
“There is a lot of analysis going into it to try and break out of that.”
