Mike Krack is optimistic that Aston Martin is redirecting its season towards success.
After a startlingly strong start to the season with a series of podium finishes for Fernando Alonso, the team concedes it has experienced some setbacks with less successful car upgrades.
However, Alonso returned to the podium at Zandvoort on Sunday, thanks to a new update on the green vehicle, and appeared as Max Verstappen’s most immediate rival.
Some are questioning whether it was the 42-year-old’s extensive experience and talent in variable weather that truly made the difference.
“You’ll have to ask the team bosses that when it comes to extending the contract for the future,” Alonso told DAZN with a grin. “Do you want youth or experience.”
Team leader Krack is confident that Aston Martin’s recent enhancements were effective.
“I’m pretty happy that we were able to come back from our performance slump like this,” he expressed.
“I wish I could say it for sure, but we need some more data for that. We’ll have to see at Monza, which is a very different circuit, but there are two or three races other races coming up where we can get more information.”
It’s evident that after initially being Red Bull’s primary competitor this season, Aston Martin now finds itself under pressure from rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari.
Distinct from those teams, Aston Martin has resolved to persist in fine-tuning its 2023 vehicle.
“We are not going to stop this season,” Krack affirmed. “We are going to continue developing and we have to reverse the trend that started in Austria.
“We got the fastest lap too (at Zandvoort) so it was very, very strong.”
As the race concluded, Alonso crossed the finish line less than four seconds behind Verstappen.
“It was close, it was close,” German Krack acknowledged, “but we have to get closer next time.
“The people at the factory are really stepping on the gas. When we had those races in July, where our performance curve went down a bit, the lights in the factory never went out.
“We analyzed everything and made new parts for Zandvoort, for Monza and in Singapore we’ll have more as well. We don’t want to let up now.”
