Aston Martin’s Mike Krack: “Today was not our strongest performance”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso crossed the line in sixth place before being moved up to fifth due to Carlos Sainz’s post-race track limits penalty, while team-mate Lance Stroll ended the race in ninth. 

Before Alonso’s promotion to fifth, Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack said that he was content with the nine points they added to the board on Sunday. He also felt that they missed out on an even better finish for both cars due to their poorly timed first stop, which saw them pit Alonso and Stroll a lap later than optimal under Virtual Safety Car conditions. 

“Today was not our strongest performance, but we still managed to score nine important points. The podium fight was out of reach, but there was the opportunity to finish higher up with both drivers. 

“We lost some track position early on when we chose to pit and stack both cars just as the VSC was ending and that proved quite costly for both drivers.”

From their strategic falter on lap sixteen, Krack said that Stroll did a great job at battling through the field to reenter the points after his drop down to fifteenth. 

He was also pleased to see Alonso keep ahead of their closest competitors, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, which has allowed Aston Martin to narrow their gap to them in the Constructors’ Standings– now just three points away from reclaiming second place.

“After that, Lance kept his head down to recover into the points, making some important overtaking moves when it mattered. With Fernando, our race today was with Mercedes and, our pace, combined with some rapid pit stops, allowed us to come out ahead in that battle.”

Krack is excited to close out the double-header at the British Grand Prix, where they’ll be hoping to achieve a solid result in front of their home crowd.

“Our attention now turns to our home race in Silverstone next week where we look forward to putting on a strong performance in front of the passionate British fans.”

Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team