Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has called for caution and for everyone to keep their feet on the ground despite the remarkable all-round performance in the season-opening race in Bahrain at the weekend.
Following the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit, it was anticipated the Silverstone-based marque would make a leap forward this term.
Arguably, the results from the weekend were not widely predicted as Fernando Alonso finished third on his Aston Martin debut, whilst Lance Stroll overcame a double wrist break and other injuries to split the Mercedes in sixth.
Alonso has no doubt that Aston Martin has the second-quickest car at present behind front-running Red Bull.
Krack, however, is eager not to get too carried away despite assertions his team could catch Red Bull if its punishment for breaching last year’s cost cap begins to bite hard as the season continues.
“We wanted to make a step forward, we did not say we wanted to beat Red Bull,” said Krack.
“So let’s keep our feet on the ground, let’s work hard because it could be that in Jeddah (Saudi Arabian GP) we are maybe fourth, fifth, or sixth in terms of team ranking.
“We’ll enjoy this and we will see how it goes.”
Aston Martin has good base from which to develop
Last year Aston Martin proved itself adept in development after a dreadful start to the campaign following the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations.
The team quickly realised it had opted for the wrong concept, ushering in a new design from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, albeit finishing seventh in the constructors’ standings.
Under the guidance of technical director Dan Fallows, and with the AMR23 a solid platform on which to work, there is no reason why Aston Martin cannot maintain its position amongst Ferrari and Mercedes in trying to catch Red Bull.
“Last year we managed to get better over the season, but we also saw how hard that is because of the intensity of the racing and with the cost cap,” maintained Krack. “We were really tight.
“In a cost cap environment, you need to start with a good baseline because you cannot afford to spend what you have available on just developing. This is why we went aggressive in the targets we had for the car.
“Now, obviously, it’s not always easy to achieve but our team has managed to achieve great things there.
“It’s much easier to develop from this space than to develop from the base we had last year.”
The next race takes place in Jeddah from March 17-19.
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