Aston Martin has confirmed it will be forced to ‘hang on’ through the upcoming European season following its horrific start to the current F1 season.
The introduction of new regulations and power units for this season has resulted in a cascade of issues and retirements for Aston Martin, and, in particular, its new engine partner, Honda.
Two-time F1 champion Alonso and team-mate Stroll have endured endless frustration, leaving both them and the team rock bottom in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings going into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Although Honda has taken steps to address some of the vibration problems it encountered initially with its PU, there remains a long checklist of items to work through before it can finally claim it has a competitive system.
The team, meanwhile, has additionally confirmed there will be no major upgrades on the car until after the August summer break.
Chief trackside officer Krack has insisted that motivation in the team remains “quite good”, albeit recognising that for Alonso and Stroll, in being on the frontline, these are horrendously difficult times.
“The drivers are the ones who need to be protected the most, because you [the media] ask them the same question every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then again the week after, so for them it’s difficult to be repetitive and give you the same response each time,” said Krack, speaking to the media in Montréal, including ApexF1News.
“So, and I think I said it in Shanghai, we need to protect the drivers from that, because they accumulate that frustration in being at the back of the field.
“We are aware of our situation, and together with our partner, we sat down at an early stage, and we defined the steps that we will have to take to improve, knowing that we have to take big steps, and that in Formula 1, you do not take big steps during a season.
“So you have to motivate yourself by making progress from race to race, from event to event, and then at the end of the season, you can zoom out and say, ‘Okay, what did we achieve?'”
Aston Martin lacking ‘big impact’
Krack is aware that F1 revolves around the words “improvement” and “upgrades”, especially this season, with a blank canvas for the engineers and considerable scope for rapid development.
With the European races following Canada where the upgrade race between the teams will shift up a gear, Krack knows his team will be left behind, with nothing due on the car until later in the year.
“If you do not see them, with big steps or [having a] big impact on outcome or results, people get frustrated,” said Krack. “It is about managing that situation.
“We will have a high frequency of races coming now into the European season, and we will have to hang on there.
“But we had a meeting with the team this morning. The spirit is very good because we are honest about the situation, and we are aware, and we discuss it.
“I can only confirm that the spirit with our partner [Honda], with the team, within the team is very strong, but for the drivers, it’s very difficult because they are the most exposed.”
