Aston Martin may have experienced their most successful F1 season to date in 2023 but team principal Mike Krack has been keen to manage expectation. His recent comments saw him claim that the tight gaps in qualifying ‘will only get smaller’ over the coming years but at this moment he does not anticipate any ‘big deviations’ to current order.
Red Bull Racing has dominated the ground-effect era of cars. This specification requirement will be in its third year of running in 2024. Red Bull’s RB19 is in the history books as one of the most dominant cars in F1 history, having won all but one of the 2023 season’s 22 races. Having been the most successful team in recent years, many of its rivals are expected to follow a similar design to the RB19 when the cars are revealed next month. However, due to the fact that Red Bull Racing had both titles wrapped up early last year, they have (in theory) had more months than several other teams to be able to focus on the 2024 package – and if rumours are to be believed their 2025 package too.
As the F1 season ahead does not feature any major rule changes, it is hard to see how there will be many changes to the order of things. Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack seems to have a similar mindset based on his recent remarks.
“When you have stable rules, the way we have it now, teams will rather go evolutionary. And, if you have such a standout car, as we have with Red Bull, I think a lot of people will try to go in that direction.” stated Krack.
Although, not all teams may be headed this way – as Krack admits – and his musings show that he is as interested in what is happening elsewhere on the grid as the majority of F1 fans would be.
“On the other hand, we have heard from Ferrari, from Mercedes, that they will make very big architectural changes. So, we are curious to see what that is going to bring.” concluded Krack.
F1 is no stranger to stability and its history shows that year on year, the rules do eventually bring the pack closer together. Krack does not expect that to change in the modern era of F1 as he expects the field to be moving closer together year on year.
Ironically, 2025 may be the year when the field is at its closest but then 2026 regulations will arrive, and we may find ourselves back where we started with one team dominating – time will tell as to who that is though.
So, it all comes down to the fine margins which could make the greatest difference. Krack predicted that there will be “more emphasis on operations again” due to the fact that “it’s really the small details that make the difference on the grid position.”
At tracks which may prove particularly difficult to overtake on, qualifying becomes all the more important. On this aspect of the sport, Krack stated that he expects the gaps between teams to get smaller over the years to come. This is of course the dream for many an F1 fan – close wheel to wheel racing and very little between the teams. However, that dream may have to wait for the 2026 regulations and the smaller lighter cars which those rules will bring. In 2024, it could very well be business as usual once again at the sharp end of the grid.
“I will be surprised if there are big deviations to where we are now.” Mike Krack
Photo Credits: Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team
