Mike Krack responds to claims Aston Martin 'lost' with latest F1 car updates

It has been a season of mixed fortunes for Aston Martin so far, having failed to achieve the heights they did last year after being one of the closest teams to Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso achieved six podiums and came close to winning races with the outfit, whereas now they have not come close to any and struggled to even break into the top five.

They currently sit in no man’s land in the Constructors’ Championship over 300 points behind Red Bull and just 39 points ahead of Visa CashApp RB, who could catch up to them if they continue to bring upgrades to their car.

Aston Martin was accused of getting ‘lost’ and having taken a step back, when it emerged they were using old parts in a bid to retrace their steps. Team principal Mike Krack says this is not the case and that their upgrades brought to Hungary have shown positive results when speaking in an interview for the official Aston Martin website.

Mike Krack believes Aston Martin is not ‘lost’ with car upgrades

Aston Martin brought a raft of upgrades to their car at the Hungarian Grand Prix which included a new front wing, halo, floor body and edges, diffuser and rear beam wing.

Krack believes the upgrades provided the team with the performance they were looking for, and countered recent reports suggesting that it was “lost” while bringing more parts to their car.

“The updates that we fitted in Hungary are working. It’s not just a case of this making the car faster for the rest of this season, it’s also having the knowledge that we understand our platform and know how to develop it,” said Krack.

“A journalist who, perhaps, hadn’t been looking at the context, asked me if we were still lost. I replied that lost implies you don’t know where you are, don’t know what to do. We know the updates are working, so we we’re not lost. Had the updates not worked, then, we’d have been lost, because that would imply we didn’t understand our car very well.”

F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2024 — Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Aston Martin technical team under pressure

While Krack is quick to note that Aston Martin is not lost with its design direction, their lack of progress had led to technical director Dan Fallows coming under pressure from billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll.

Stroll was recently praised for his approach to the team by Krack, who believes his ownership means they can be more agile compared to other teams when making decisions on car upgrades.

The team recently moved into a new wind tunnel and factory facility at their Silverstone headquarters which was described as the ‘most modern’ in F1 by one journalist.

In the background, they have also made some significant hires including ex-Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell who was responsible for the German teams’ successful power units in the hybrid era.

Ex-Ferrari engineer Enrico Cardile is also set to join, while legendary designer Adrian Newey could be their next big name having held secret talks with Stroll in recent weeks.