Krack admits Aston must address 'concerning' development failures
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has acknowledged the team’s inability to improve its F1 car in-season for the second consecutive year, calling the issue a “concern” and suggesting a critical review of the team’s “systems”.
In 2023, Aston Matin hit the ground running, with Fernando Alonso emerging as an early challenger to Max Verstappen.
However, the Silverstone-based outfit failed to sustain its early momentum, struggling to match the development pace of rivals and slipping down the pecking order.
The story was eerily similar in 2024. Starting as the fifth-best team on the grid, Aston Martin finished the season in the same position, but often fell behind Haas, Alpine, and RB as the year progressed.
While Alonso and Stroll combined for 13 top-10 finishes in the first half of the season, the second half saw only seven points-scoring finishes – all from Alonso.
Reflecting on the season, Krack admitted that his team had “delivered below expectation”.
“We cannot be happy with how our season went,” added the Aston team boss.
“We stay in P5, but had the championship started in the summer, we would not finish in P5. So, I think in all we need to reflect on the season and see it very critically.
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“The steps that we have brought to the car have not managed to improve the car, and there is a little bit of parallel [with] last year in all that.
“The difference is that we have started better last year, and we have not started at that same high level this year.
“So, I think there’s plenty for us to look at in terms of how we do these things because we have now, two years in a row, not really managed to improve from where we started but rather slipped back.”
A Self-Critical Approach to Development
The team’s regression prompted Aston Martin to reverse some upgrades late in the 2024 season, but this did little to address their deeper issues.
For Krack, the repeated failure to improve the car highlights systemic problems that demand urgent attention.
“It is a question where often you say, ‘we have improved it in this area, but we have made it probably worse in this area,’” he explained.
“So, I don’t think that you will always have, like, ‘we made it better in every area.’
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“But, seriously, I think it’s a concern. Because if you have done that twice in a row, it’s not a one-off. It’s something you have to look at in your system.
“The progress that we wanted to make – you formulate some targets, and you do not achieve them. You do not deliver the performance that you want to deliver.
“You can put it down to all kinds of areas. You can say, ‘it’s not correlating the way it should.’ But then others are using the same tunnel, for example; if you go about aerodynamics [and say] ‘it’s not correlating,’ why are the others correlating and making progress?
“So, you have to be critical with yourself. You cannot just say, ‘it’s this, it’s this.’ The level is too high to not look very thoroughly at what you are doing.”
The Need for Better Decision-Making
Krack emphasized the importance of reassessing the team’s decision-making processes and ensuring that upgrades are properly validated before being implemented.
“Did we take the right decisions at the right times?” Krack questioned. “Should we have waited with maybe one or two steps until they are really proven properly?
“Or did we just rush into things because the pressure is high? So, it is all questions that we have to ask ourselves – critically – and take the right conclusions from it.”
Looking Ahead to 2025
As Aston Martin gears up for the 2025 season, the team faces significant challenges to address the issues that have hampered their progress over the last two years.
With Alonso’s experience and Stroll’s determination, the team has the potential to bounce back.
However, as Krack’s candid comments suggest, achieving success will require introspection, a reassessment of their processes, and a commitment to making the right decisions at the right time.
For Aston Martin, the pressure is on to prove that they can not only compete but also improve over the course of a season in the highly competitive world of Formula 1.
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