For Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack, fifth place in the World Championship cannot hide the fundamental issues the team must address for 2025.
The 2024 Formula One season was a mixed one for Aston Martin, and one that was marked by challenges. While the team ultimately finished fifth in the constructors’ championship, team principal Mike Krack emphasizes that this result should not obscure the structural problems.
He warns against interpreting fifth place as a sign of stability or success: “It shouldn’t distract us from the fact that we’re no longer fifth. There’s a danger of looking at the paper, seeing that you’ve come in fifth, and thinking that everything’s fine. We mustn’t be deceived by that.”
This ranking does not reflect the true performance, as the team fell short of expectations, especially in the second half of the season, and was no longer able to show the strength that had been visible in the past.
Lack of upgrades and financial constraints
A key problem was the limited further development of the car. After an upgrade package in Austin, the team did not plan any further improvements, which, according to Krack, was due to the short development cycles and the financial restrictions imposed by the cost cap.
“Whether something works or not, there is no time to react. You also have to make financial decisions,” explains Krack, who admits: ‘We have not made any significant progress through upgrades in the last 18 months, which is why we have to rethink our approach.’
In addition, the team manager notes that the narrow operating windows of the cars remain a key problem. The aim of development is to enlarge these windows, but new problems such as unexpected bouncing often arise in the process.
Given the complexity of the cars, this is a “very fine balancing act” that has different effects depending on the track and conditions, Krack continues.
Good in qualifying, but something is missing in the race
Fernando Alonso, the team’s experienced driver, has made a significant contribution to Aston Martin’s performance in some races thanks to his exceptional qualifying performances. However, Krack points out that focusing on qualifying success is not enough, as the points are awarded in the races.
“This year, we were often stronger in qualifying than in the race,“ he says. While Alonso excelled on some street circuits, the team’s race pace was a weak point, especially in difficult conditions such as heat.
”There were some extraordinary performances, sometimes the car came to life. With little fuel, when you get into the rhythm of the tires…” says Krack.
“But we must not forget that the gaps are very, very small. Often you can find an extra tenth and make a big leap like on Saturday. If the race had been in the heat at 2 p.m., we would have had a tough time. Then both qualifying and the race would have looked very different.”
Outlook: Must not neglect 2025
For the future, Krack emphasizes the need not to neglect 2025, although the team is already thinking about 2026. He admits that Aston Martin has not performed as well as they had hoped in the last two years.
“We have to be humble and solve the problems we’ve had this year step by step,” he says, admitting that the competition has reached a higher level of development. ‘Everyone has reached a level of maturity that we don’t have, so that’s something we have to catch up on,’ says the Aston team principal.