Aston Martin coy on upgrade plans

Krack in Australia — Photo: © LAT Images

Aston Martin

Aston Martin coy on upgrade plans

Team is aiming to build on positive Imola weekend

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 3 May 2022 09:10

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has kept his cards close to his chest with regards to the team's upgrade schedule.

The Silverstone-based team scored its first points of the new F1 season with both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll in the top 10 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, ending a disastrous run of form.

But even at Imola, the team's fortunes were aided by changeable weather, with aerodynamic and weight issues preventing a charge through the midfield.

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"I think in a couple of races, we will be in better shape," insisted Krack when asked when progress can be expected.

"It would be foolish to say in race X or race Y because even if you bring new parts, you need to understand them and you need to understand what job you have done.

"Say. for example, we bring a big package to Miami and there is rain or whatever and we don't make it work, you clearly lower those expectations and then everyone will consider you have failed."

Explaining how the Imola weekend prevented a raft of upgrades, Krack added: "Take the sprint, you have only one session on Friday, you have a big update and you have no chance at all to test it or validate if it works or not.

"So from that point of view, it is very important not to say a specific event, especially to the outside world.

"We have our internal plans, you will understand I don't want to go into detail there but I think in a couple of races we should be in better shape."

Aston Martin aiming for "continuous development"

Aston Martin's issues coincide with the state of flux back at base with a new state-of-the-art factory being constructed, with work still being done in the original Jordan building that remains.

But with performance desperately needed, Krack explained: "For us, we want to bring updates to every race, we want to have the continuous development and bring updates all the time.

"Sometimes they are a bit bigger, sometimes they are smaller but it is important to keep the development alive and not stop.

"Obviously, at some point in the season we have to stop and focus on next year's car but we are quite far from that at the moment."

Additional reporting by Ian Parkes