Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is adamant his team’s season should not be viewed as a “disappointment” despite it sliding out of the race for second place in the F1 constructors’ championship.
Following an overhaul of its car over the winter, Aston Martin came flying out of the traps with its AMR23, with Fernando Alonso scoring six podiums in the first eight races, whilst team-mate Lance Stroll held his own after breaking both wrists in pre-season.
Yet as the year wore on, Aston Martin slowly slipped down the pecking order as first Mercedes, then Ferrari, and finally McLaren, overhauled a team that finished fifth in the standings.
The team now concedes it took an aggressive approach with its in-season development that backfired to a certain extent, putting it on the back foot, and with only occasional highs late on, such as Alonso’s third place in São Paulo.
Putting the campaign in context, Krack said: “There’s no disappointment. You need to be realistic about where you are.
‘We started the year in a very good position, but we also need to analyse why we were in that position. If you do that and be realistic about where you are, then it (the season) cannot be a disappointment.
“We were surprised, and I think everybody was surprised, that some teams did not come out of the starting blocks as was expected.
“But by developing, they came back to their, let’s say, more natural position, which is something you cannot influence with the firepower we had.
“It is something we know we need to work on for the future if we want to become a stronger team, but it would be incorrect to say it was a disappointment.”
Given its superb start to the season, Aston Martin suddenly found itself in the full glare of F1’s harshest spotlight when it comes to running at the front of the pack, with greater focus placed on the team.
Krack feels if his team had simply been a midfield runner, its development would not have been scrutinised – and criticised – so heavily.
“We said in the beginning, after two or three races, that we were fighting in a completely different league of teams who are used to development races much more,” said Krack. “At the top, it is a much harsher development race going on.
“We knew it was going to be a hard fight, and we confirmed it was going to be hard.
“It is probably easier to do this development when you are running in the midfield than when you’re running more at the front.”
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