Aston Martin chief says team have CONFIRMED reason for poor form after Fernando Alonso criticism

Alonso en Hamilton feliciteren elkaar na Bakoe — Photo: © LAT Images

Aston Martin

Aston Martin chief says team have CONFIRMED reason for poor form after Alonso criticism

A variety of upgrades introduced across F1 teams has shaken up the order

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 27 July 2023 16:42

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Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has admitted that blaming the cost cap or tyre rule changes would be making 'easy excuses' when it came to their drop in form.

Having roared into life at the beginning of the season, Aston Martin have lost ground to their rivals in recent weeks.

Fernando Alonso claimed six podiums from the first eight races, but could only manage P7 and P9 finishes at Silverstone and the Hungaroring respectively.

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And even with their sudden dip in form, Krack is not looking to shirk any responsibility despite picking up just nine points over the last two grands prix.

Krack: No easy excuses

"That would be an easy excuse,” he said (via PlanetF1) when asked if tyre changes and the cost cap were to blame for his team's drop in performance. “We see that there is a deep difference with these tyres but they were brought on safety and so from their point of view, everybody has to run them.

“It’s the same for everybody so we should not use this as an excuse for competitiveness, because it’s the same tyres that we have to use going forward.”

“To use the cost cap as an excuse not to progress," he added. "I think at this stage of the season is a little bit strange. This is not the case for us.

“We will try to improve the car further, understand these limitations, work on them and try to bring parts and upgrades for the next races that fix them.”

Fernando Alonso has picked up just one podium finish since Monaco

And when pressed for the reason as to why Aston have started struggling, Krack believes that a knock-on effect from a previous change may to be blame.

“It’s very complex,” he said. “You change one thing but you never change one thing and everything else is fine. You always have side effects when you do changes and you need to weigh what you use.

“For example, a part makes more downforce but has a different character or vice versa and we think that in one or two situations we have done not the right choice.”

Yet Krack insisted that the team have now discovered the root cause of their recent issues as the team look to get back on track.

“We are very confident," he added. "It took us now a couple of weeks to identify what the issues are and also to confirm them. But we are quite confident that what we can do over the next races will give us the improvements we need.”