Aston Martin Chief Cautions That Tougher F1 Races Lie Ahead

Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, acknowledged that Fernando Alonso’s ninth-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix was aided by Zandvoort’s circuit layout, noting the team has yet to maximize the upgraded AMR26’s capabilities.

Starting from 18th on the grid, Alonso capitalized on an opportunistic one-stop strategy to secure an unexpected ninth place, finishing directly ahead of the frustrated Pierre Gasly.

While the majority of competitors opted for a two-stop strategy, Aston Martin exploited a different rhythm to leverage the AMR26’s cornering velocity, where the Honda-powered machine compensated for its lack of straight-line speed.

When asked whether the team’s race pace exceeded its qualifying pace, Krack agreed wholeheartedly, but highlighted that less favorable circuits like Monza and Baku—featuring some of the championship’s longest straights—are approaching.

“Since Budapest, we have known that we are stronger in the race,” Krack stated. “I believe Fernando noted today that our outcome will largely depend on the length of the straights.”

“These recent races featured shorter straights, which played to our advantage,” Krack continued. “We will undoubtedly face tougher races ahead, which is simply part of the sport. There are rounds where we excel and others where we struggle, making the remainder of the season particularly intriguing to watch.”

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer of Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

At Zandvoort, Aston Martin recorded the second-slowest straight-line speed during qualifying at 309.5km/h, falling well short of Alpine’s 331.7km/h and only narrowly beating Cadillac’s 309.4km/h.

This was despite the introduction of Honda’s highly anticipated power unit upgrade, which was designed to significantly boost performance following the car’s early-season struggles. Nevertheless, the chassis development showed clear progression, a point proven once again at Zandvoort.

“We are gradually learning this package better,” Krack explained. “It takes several sessions to understand the large aero package introduced in Budapest and to find the optimal setup. The same applies to the integration of the new power unit.”

“We must learn how to utilize and optimize it, which will likely take a few events, but it was undoubtedly a positive step forward.”

When questioned about the positive remarks from Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll on the team radio, Krack added: “This aligns with my comments regarding our efforts to understand the package. Implementing changes of this magnitude makes it difficult to extract maximum performance consistently, especially with the intensity of the race weekends. However, as we accumulate more sessions, we will gain better control over it.”

“However, there will always be sessions where extracting performance is more difficult, and others where it comes easier; we were fortunate to have a strong configuration this weekend.”

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