Mike Krack believes it was the first stint of the Spanish Grand Prix that left the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team with too much to do to fight for a podium finish on Sunday, but it was still pleasing to see the team score fourteen points.
Lance Stroll ended the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in sixth place having run as high as third in the opening laps, just ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, and Krack says both drivers were pushing hard all afternoon long to maximise Aston Martin’s points haul.
Krack, the Team Principal of the Silverstone-based outfit, says the team cannot be disappointed with the result, even if they did slip behind the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
And Krack feels the pace of the AMR23 after the first stint struggles was strong enough to comfortably see them finish ahead of Esteban Ocon and the BWT Alpine F1 Team in eighth place.
“It was good to have both Aston Martins finish well this afternoon and we come away from Barcelona with 14 points,” said Krack. “Lance and Fernando pushed hard all afternoon, made some important overtakes, and showed great teamwork.
“We should not be disappointed with this result – even though we did not quite have the pace to fight for the podium today. It was in the first stint on the Softs that we did not quite have the performance to catch the cars ahead and in the second and third stints we managed our pace and had a comfortable advantage over the teams behind us.
“Before we leave Spain, I want to say a big thank you to the passionate fans: their energy has been very motivating throughout this race week, and we have really enjoyed racing here.”