F1 News: Aston Martin Identifies Line Of Success

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has found the positive from their performance at the British Grand Prix weekend, saying it was all about "damage limitation." Even though they trailed Mercedes, they stayed ahead of Ferrari.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso crossed the line in seventh position with his teammate Lance Stroll finishing in fourteenth.

Krack summarised the weekend for the Silverstone-based team, explaining (as quoted by PitPass.com):

"Damage limitation. We did not have the performance that we wanted to have come Saturday, Sunday, so to go away with scoring more points than Ferrari, I think you can call it damage limitation.

"I always said you cannot have all the time podiums. So we had six podiums in ten races, I think I always said that there will be also moments where it will be a bit more difficult. And we had now a race where, clearly on Saturday we didn't have the pace.

"Going into the race, I said we need to rely on our strengths, which I think pit stops, restarts, execution, strategy, and it played out quite well. I think this allowed us to come home still with these points."

He admitted to fans' inflated expectations due to Aston Martin's commendable early season performances but reminded that the car, like several competitors, shows venue-specific efficiency.

Silverstone also saw McLaren joining the top teams, scoring a whopping 30 points with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing in second and fourth, respectively. However, Krack showed no concern. He continued:

"Concern is the wrong word. I think it confirms what I have always been saying, we need to be careful defining too quickly a pecking order. You will remember me saying this. So we have a swing up and down.

"We have seen in Austria, for example, Mercedes were quite down, in Barcelona, they were very strong. We were very strong in Canada, it's not long ago, where we were fighting for the podium.

"So that is why I always say that we need to wait two, three or four tracks to realise or to be really sure about where the pecking order is. And I think we should maintain that."

Highlighting the importance of qualifying, Krack confessed that Aston Martin, like many of its competitors, experiences a gap between single-lap qualifying speed and race pace.

"Qualifying is key. Especially in circuits where you struggle more to pass like the one that will come, although it is now much easier than it used to be. But I think qualifying performance is key to finish at the front in F1 wherever you go.

"The statistics do not lie. It's a general improvement that we need to bring to the car. But it starts with analysing your weaknesses from the current events."

Despite the intense pressure born from their early season victories, Krack remained hopeful and committed.

"The level of expectation has risen from six podiums. We sit here now with six podiums in ten races. It's normal, that the expectations are high, and we will continue to try and fulfil the expectations.

"It's a compliment that we have these expectations, it shows that we have done the job. Even if it was six podiums in 22, I think it will be very respectable season compared to where we come from, and what our targets for the season were. But we will not give up now and let it go."

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