Aston Martin Team Chief Gives Performance Verdict: "Gap Too Big To Catch Red Bull"
Aston Martin's F1 team principal, Mike Krack, has admitted that closing the gap between his team and Red Bull, the current leaders of the championship, is a tough challenge. Krack acknowledged that Aston Martin had shaved off 1.5 seconds of their deficit to Red Bull over the winter, but they now have less scope to improve further.
Krack went on to say that even if Red Bull didn't bring a single upgrade to the RB19 this season, the gap is still "too big" to close this year. Aston Martin has been the surprise team of this year's championship, being the second-fastest car on the grid. As a result, they are in second place in the teams' championship ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso is third in the drivers' championship with his three third place podiums.
However, despite the success, Krack admitted there is still a massive deficit between his team's F1 cars and Red Bull's. He explained to Auto Motor und Sport:
“There is a difference between confidence and arrogance.
“We are substantially behind Red Bull. Even if they stood still, the gap would be too big to catch up with them in one season.
“Of course, we take the fastest car as a reference. We just don’t go crazy and constantly look at the distances with respect to Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine.
“We have to be realistic. We have to look up, but we also have to look at third and fourth place. Things can change very quickly in the championship. We are not far ahead of Mercedes. As a team you can quickly drop down the leaderboard.”
Krack emphasised the importance of being realistic and aiming to stay ahead of Mercedes while acknowledging that things can change quickly in the championship. He also praised Alonso's enthusiasm and seemingly inexhaustible energy, stating that he is a wonderful motivator who inspires the team to do everything for him and with him.
Aston Martin has scored 65 points this season. Despite this, they are still 58 points behind Red Bull, with Mercedes' just nine points behind them.
While Aston Martin made significant progress in the off-season, Krack admits that there is now less scope for further improvement. He emphasised the importance of waiting for a few races to get a better understanding of where the team stands and said that they need to make progress if they want to stay where they are. He said to motorsport-total.com:
“We have to wait a few races. You can’t tell after a race whether you’re here or there, you need a little more data to really understand where you are.
“We started this year on a better footing, so it won’t be as easy as last year.
“But we have to make progress if we want to stay where we are. Because even if we don’t do anything, we will go backwards.”