Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack denies the team is performing below expectations despite making a less competitive start to 2024 than last year.
The team is yet to score a podium finish so far this season but took five over the first six rounds of 2023.Krack said the team is closer to the front runners in terms of outright performance, but other team have also become more competitive, making it harder to score points.
“Performance-wise, we are where we expected to be,” he said. “We’ve closed the gap to the front but it’s ultra-competitive and the pack is very tight.”
Fernando Alonso has scored points in all six grands prix but finished lower than he started in four of them.
“Coming into this year, we expected to be fifth fastest and that’s where we’ve often been in race trim,” said Krack. “In qualifying, we’ve often been third fastest which has been positive, and we’re working hard on developing the car to make sure we can capitalise on our strong performance over one lap.”
After the first six rounds of 2024, Aston Martin have scored 42 points from a possible 294. At the same stage last year the team had taken 120 points from a possible 279.
The team will have more new parts for its AMR24 this weekend as it seeks to close the gap to the pace-setters. “We’re bringing an update to Imola as part of our continuous programme of in-season development,” Krack said. “This should address several areas for improvement that we’ve identified, but it’s all relative – nobody stands still in F1 – and our competitors will be bringing new parts too.”
Krack said the team has improved other aspects of its performance in 2024. “Operationally, we’ve been very strong,” he noted.
“Our pit stops have consistently been among the fastest and we have not lost a minute of track time because of any operational glitches.
“As a team, we’ve executed well throughout the campaign and that is down to the hard work and dedication of everyone both at the Campus and the track.”
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Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
15th May 2024, 10:10
For a single car team, they aren’t doing that bad.
Dex
15th May 2024, 11:37
If that is the case I have only one question for this gentleman. Why did you expect to do worse than in a previous season? To be able to fulfill the expectations I assume. But yeah, you’re not doing so poorly for a bunch of hobbyists (how else to call a team to opts to race with a single car in 2024).
MichaelN
15th May 2024, 12:44
McLaren made a big step in 2023, Ferrari was compromised going into that season, and Mercedes switched their concept quite significantly. It was fair to expect that they would do better in 2024 than in 2023.
Aston Martin wasn’t particularly close to Red Bull in 2023, even at the start. There was just no other team between them.
Nick T.
15th May 2024, 14:42
They’ve gone backward. There’s no way for them to spin this any other way. Whether backward means failing to make almost any progress while other teams move forward, that’s still going backward.
Dex
15th May 2024, 18:47
Progress is only being measured against other teams, and we know that their states ambitious were very different. If they stagnated that would seem disappointing after all the big talk, but they didn’t just stagnate.
When it comes to spinning, this is Krack we’re talking about. He’s practicing new spinning techniques every time he talks about Stroll Junior, explaining the unexplainable. The only times I actually hear this man talking is when he has to focus on some excuses (at least that’s all I remember). His fault is that he accepted such a role, but other than that it’s the owner that has those ambitious, but doesn’t want to let the team operate free of nepotism, based on meritocracy.
They’d sooner blame a weighbridge, or drivers who brake before corners, than anything they do themselves.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th May 2024, 16:48
Agree, huge investments, huge talks and getting worse.
Edvaldo
15th May 2024, 14:02
Aston Martin is where they expected it to be and Lance Stroll is the driver every engineer dreams to work with, he said.
Nick T.
15th May 2024, 15:26
You can see the grit and determination in Lance’s eye…brows and hear it in the disinterested whine of his voice after a tough race. He makes Fernando look like a weakling.
– Mike “The Rock” Krack
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th May 2024, 16:49
Wonder if newey thinks that too, as that could be determinant in his choice for next team.
Nick T.
16th May 2024, 8:25
Newey might think if I can make a car that even makes Stroll look good, it’ll be a once in a millennium achievement.
Leroy (@g-funk)
15th May 2024, 18:02
The numbers just don’t agree. In races (not sprints) they have finished 5th only once and every other result is worse. Their average race classification is 9.45. In qualifying (not sprint qualification), they have qualified 3rd only once and every other result is worse. Their average qualy position is 9.3.
Nick T.
16th May 2024, 8:26
Fifth fastest means fifth fastest team…which means they’re expecting to be 9th and 10th.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
15th May 2024, 19:36
Congratulations!
Dale
16th May 2024, 23:30
“Krack insists Aston Martin are performing “where we expected to be” in 2024” … the silent part in his head that he didn’t say out loud was “with one car & driver”.