Team boss Mike Krack thanks his drivers for their patience with the extremely difficult Aston Martin – he therefore wants to take Lance Stroll out of the criticism
Few team duels in 2024 were as clear-cut as the one at Aston Martin between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. The son of team owner Lawrence Stroll never stood a chance against the Spanish former champion, despite the latter’s proud racing age of 43.
But if team boss Mike Krack has his way, the gap between Stroll and Alonso is by no means as dramatic as it is often portrayed in the media: “I think overall there wasn’t much between the two. We look at it objectively, we have the gap over the season, and we try to analyze it,” explains the team boss.
In any case, the fundamental problem at Aston Martin is not the drivers’ performance, but rather a “super difficult” car, says Krack, who refers to the qualifying session at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as the most recent example: “Fernando could have been out in the first session, the car is just so difficult, you can never predict anything.”
“In Qatar, we saw that Fernando was therefore disqualified for two runs, two laps, something can always happen at any time,” says Krack, referring to his drivers’ struggle ‘at the absolute limit’. For the Luxembourger, one thing is certain: “You just can’t drive like that.” Especially since the problem is even worse in race trim, “because you don’t have the extra grip (of fresh tires) and all that.”
Krack: “That’s why I don’t want to talk about drivers…”
In qualifying, Aston Martin is sometimes able to hide its problems, “but in the race, the weaknesses come out – you can’t hide, you see where you have to work.” The drivers therefore have to build in even more leeway in the race, “otherwise you’ll be out,” says Krack: “That’s why I don’t even want to talk about the drivers, because what we gave them is just not good enough.”
“For me, the highlight (of the year) is the drivers and how they handled it, how they stuck with the team. It would have been so easy for them to go to the media and trash us, because it’s hardest for them.”
Krack feels sorry for his protégés: “Week after week, they drive it and can’t change the car. They have to drive it and then have all those microphones in front of them. Still, they’ve always stood behind the team, so that’s really a big highlight for me.”
On the lookout for form: Aston Martin again like in 2021 and 2022?
The fact that Aston Martin, after the positive surprise in 2023, when at least Alonso was able to secure various podium finishes and sometimes even fight for victory, has, however, landed back on the hard ground of reality – and is now practically back in the situation from before, when they were chasing the top teams – that also worries Krack:
“There is some truth in that, of course,” he says in reference to the unflattering comparison to the rather meager years of 2021 and 2022, but the team principal is not giving up hope: ”Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward. The whole thing is just about understanding the car.” And in that regard, Krack notes, “We just haven’t found the sweet spot yet.” No matter whether Stroll, Alonso, or anyone else is sitting in the cockpit…
