After a recent slump in form, Aston Martin delivered a strong performance in Montreal, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
Aston introduced a significant upgrade as the European leg of the season got underway in Imola, aiming to regain their early 2023 season form. However, after an uncharacteristically messy weekend from Alonso, the team left Italy with only two points in the bag—courtesy of Stroll—and no clear indication that their upgrade package was delivering the expected performance boost. In Monaco, the team failed to score points altogether.
In Canada, though, Aston seemed to find their footing again. While they might not have been able to directly challenge the frontrunners, they were able to capitalise on Ferrari’s struggles and Perez’s middling performance for a strong qualifying on Saturday and a much-needed double points finish on Sunday.
Speaking after the race, team principal Mike Krack cautioned that it’s too early to draw a conclusive picture of Aston Martin’s 2024 performance, reiterating that the team is currently focusing on a race by race approach.
“We have just done one third of the season, and I think you cannot judge your season after one third. So, I think we need to look at ourselves, try to identify the issues that we are having, try to understand, and we cannot in any way influence what the others are doing.
“You have to look at yourself and try to improve your car as much as you can race to race.
“We are developing the car race on race, and sometimes it works well, sometimes it works less well, so that is something that you have to understand, and then only take the right direction.”
Krack added that Aston Martin has not yet hit the performance ceiling of the AMR24, stating that he’s confident they can get closer to the top four teams before the season is done.
“Yes, I think so. I’m convinced that we can. The thing you will ask me is when.
“With aerodynamic development, which is the main performance differentiator in Formula 1, this stuff takes time. If today you find something, say, in a floor or whatever, it takes a lot of weeks before you have it.
“But now we have very intense racing—within the next four weeks, we have three races. So you are constantly pushing to bring the parts. And it is never quick enough. So that is something, again, where you have to be patient. In every race, look at what is coming and optimise the package you have and get the maximum out of what you have.
“Because there is also no point of complaining, ‘the new parts are not there yet.’ We still have races to do.”
Asked whether the upcoming circuits will suit the AMR24, Krack said, “It is difficult to judge, because it is also a relative competition. I do not know what the others will bring over the races to come.
“So I think you need to be very careful with predicting. There are different and difficult circuits that are going to come. So I think we need to, after this race, sit down, see what is the best possible package for the races to come, because they will be very intense.
“Three weeks, sprint in the middle, but two home races of them, so also something positive to look at.”
