Mike Krack explains why Aston Martin is ‘fortunate’ to have Lawrence Stroll in charge

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Aston Martin has endured mixed fortunes during the 2024 Formula 1 season having failed to deliver on their promise last year.

The team is currently fifth in the Constructors’ Championship and face a credible threat from Red Bull sister team Visa CashApp RB as they begin to add performance to their car.

By contrast, Aston Martin has struggled to understand their upgrades since the final races of last season, with Fernando Alonso’s last podium at the Brazilian GP coming after they benefitted from Mercedes making key errors to their car setup.

Their lack of progress this season has reportedly led to technical director Dan Fallows coming under pressure from billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll, as they seek to finish further up the grid in the second half of the season.

Although Stroll can be seen as a ruthless businessman who demands results, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack believes there is an inherent advantage to having Stroll in charge of the team when discussing the ownership in an interview with The Mirror.

Mike Krack explains why having Lawrence Stroll in charge is an ‘asset’

Most F1 teams are owned wholly by shareholders or a consortium of investors, with only Aston Martin and Haas majority owned by a single individual.

This brings significant advantages to how they can operate compared to their rivals on the grid when it comes to making decisions according to Krack.

“We started to invest in a cost cap period, where other teams have their facilities from before, so there is always an element of playing catch up. But this should not be an excuse… You need to be at least as good in the first place but then also you have to do things better than others. When you come from being a smaller team, there are opportunities because small teams can react faster, small teams are very agile in taking decisions,” said Krack.

“We are fortunate, we are not a corporate structure, we are not a corporate organisation – we have one man who can decide very fast. And if we can preserve that, it could be an asset.”

“I think yes, if we maintain the structure that we have now. The board is one man, and it’s really much, much easier. I’ve been in a corporate world before and I think I have a very good [position from which to] compare. I prefer the current one.”

Aston Martin reinvest in backroom staff

Aston Martin has been on a massive recruitment drive in anticipation of the rule changes for 2026, with staffing levels also increasing with the opening of three new buildings on their Silverstone site which was described as the ‘most modern’ in F1 by one journalist.

They most recently hired ex-Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell, who was responsible for the German team’s engine division that produced the most successful power unit of the hybrid era.

Ex-Ferrari engineer Enrico Cardile is also set to join the team, while veteran F1 technical chief Bob Bell has joined to help them with their 2026 preparations.

The biggest coup for Aston Martin could be employing Adrian Newey, with Stroll having held secret talks with the legendary F1 car designer in recent weeks.