Mike Krack is to delve into why Aston Martin struggled for pace for the first time during a grand prix this season.
Up until Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, the team had been a revelation, with Fernando Alonso especially scoring five podiums in the first six races.
The suggestion is Alonso would have taken second on the grid at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday but for errors in the final part of qualifying, the first of which significantly damaged the floor of the AMR23.
Krack feels, though, even if Alonso had started second, the pace of Mercedes during the race would have seen him overhauled anyway by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who finished second and third respectively.
“If we had started second it would have been hard to keep the Mercedes behind in the initial phase of the race, the first 15 laps, because at times I think we were five, six, seven tenths slower,” said Krack. “This is something that we need to understand.
“There is a small disappointment about our pace, especially the first stint on the soft tyres compared to some of our direct competitors.
“We didn’t have the pace, honestly, and we need to really understand why because the gap was quite substantial at the beginning.
“It obviously went overcast very quickly, from very sunny to overcast, which we thought would help the soft tires but some cars were just driving through us more or less, and we need to understand that.”
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Aston analysis does not show big Mercedes step
From starting fifth and eighth on the grid, Lance Stroll and Alonso finished sixth and seventh respectively. For the two-time F1 champion, in particular, the result was a bitter disappointment for his home fans who had hoped to see him on the podium again.
Krack dismissed the suggestion the upgrades on Mercedes’ W14s especially played a role, even though his team is now behind the Silver Arrows in the constructors’ standings for the first time this year.
“I don’t think so because when we look later in the race, when we had the hard tyres on, for example, we were completely in the game, again compared to our competitors,” said Krack
“We were very strong at the end on the hard but by then the damage was done – although I don’t think we should call it damage. We finished with both cars high up in the points so it is not a drama at all.”
The feeling is, though, with Aston Martin only adding minor updates to its car this season, it has now fallen behind Mercedes in the pecking order.
“That would be too early or too easy to say because we did not see the full picture (in qualifying),” said Krack.
“It’s the same as we said at the beginning of the year, you need three races to see where you really are, and I think it’s the same.
“Now it could well be that others have made a bigger step but our initial analysis so far doesn’t reflect that.”
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