Aston Martin Team Principal Experiences 'Much Harsher Development Race' In 2023

Monday, 11 December 2023 at 17:00

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack revealed the development battle between the top teams fighting for the podium is much harsher than between teams at the back of the field.

Aston Martin made huge progress ahead of the 2023 season. The team went from fighting at the back of the grid in 2022 to achieving the podium in six of the first eight races of the 2023 season.

At the beginning of the season, the British team seemed like the closest challenger to Red Bull but then fell back as other teams like Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren introduced upgrades to their cars that made them faster.

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack revealed to the media that his team was not used to the pace of development at the front of the grid, which they saw after the first few races.

"After two or three races we were fighting in a completely different league of teams that are used to development races much more."

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After the first eight races of the season, Aston Martin only got two more podiums as it lost its advantage almost imidietly. Krack continued:

"At the top there is a much harsher development race going on, so we knew that this was going to be a hard fight."

While Aston Martin struggled during the second half of the season and went from being the second-best to being the fifth-best team in terms of points collected, the team principal asserted it wouldn't be correct to view it as a disappointment.

The front of the field is the most competitive part of the grid, and Aston Martin managed to get there because of its strong development progress throughout the last winter break. Krack added:

"It is probably easier to do this development when you are running in the midfield than when you're running at the front."

While playing equal games with teams like Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari is more challenging, Aston Martin's goal is to compete for the title within the next few years. Therefore, the team will have to get used to this bigger pressure placed on the development.