A spectator would grade Aston Martin’s 2023 Formula 1 campaign as probably one of the worst in car development. The British outfit produced a dream start to their season with raining podiums in Bahrain, Jeddah, and Australia before Fernando Alonso finally ran out of juice in Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, the Spaniard made a storming return to the podium the very next race in Miami.
However, Aston Martin found themselves rapidly tumbling down the pecking order as the season passed. And, shockingly enough, there was even a brief phase where Alonso and his teammate, Lance Stroll, struggled to finish in the points. Hence, it was almost like Aston Martin had polar opposite halves to their 2023 campaign, which led to the fans calling it one of the most disappointing seasons.
But, is that really what the Aston Martin boss thinks? Not at all! Mike Krack, much like two-time world champion Alonso, had a praising opinion about the 2023 season. The 51-year-old couldn’t digest the fact that numerous critics branded Aston Martin’s 2023 season as a disappointment. Krack opined that, if anything, Aston Martin only exceeded the expectations last season after the underwhelming shows in 2021 and 2022.
Mike Krack takes on the media after demoralizing Aston Martin comments
As reported by Speedcafe, Krack opened up about Aston Martin’s bitter-sweet run in 2023. According to the Luxembourgish engineer, the AMR23’s dominant performance only surprised the entire factory, considering the significantly lower expectations. “There’s no disappointment,” he said. “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.
Así funcionó el DRS de cada uno de los 10 equipos de F1 en 2023
Red Bull el más eficiente con una reducción del 18.7% del Drag ganando 22km/h
Aston Martin el menos eficiente con un 13.2% de reducción del Drag ganando 15km/h
Video: @justf1car #F1 pic.twitter.com/fpYh70dlr8
— El Mejor del Resto 🏁 (@elmejordelresto) December 18, 2023
“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.”
Overall, Aston Martin has shown a glimpse of what it can do on a good day. Furthermore, with the brand-new headquarters, one can only anticipate more such incredible performances in the coming years. But, could 2024 finally be the year for Lawrence Stroll and Co.?