Aston Martin F1 team principal
Mike Krack said his team is not giving up on the Championship fight with
McLaren after the
2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Aston Martin and McLaren teams' performances seemed to have been on the opposite ends throughout the 2023 season.
Aston Martin started the season really well, being the only challenger to
Red Bull Racing, and then fell back to fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.
McLaren, on the other hand, started the season at the back of the grid and slowly climbed up into the current fourth position in the Championship, just 21 points ahead of Aston Martin.
After unsuccessful races in
Austin and
Mexico City, it seemed like Aston Martin was lost. However, the team bounced back in
Sao Paulo with
Fernando Alonso in P3 and
Lance Stroll in P5.
Asked how the team will look at the weekend after Alonso finished 26 seconds behind
Lando Norris in the second place, Mike Krack responded to
Sky Sports F1:
"It’s a two-stage approach. After what happened over the last months, I think we have to celebrate in the first place because we have managed a turnaround. That’s very important – let’s say that is Monday."
Even though Aston Martin managed to bounce back at
Interlagos Circuit, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to catch up with accelerating McLaren. Krack continued:
"On Tuesday, I think we have to look at everything and see how we can close that gap moving forward. But I said it all the time, we are continuing the fight, and we will never give up."
Aston Martin closed the gap to McLaren after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix also because
Oscar Piastri fell victim
to first lap collision which put him out of the points for the rest of the race.
"The only thing we have in our hands is to do the best possible and [be at] 100% at all times. If that is then sufficient to bring the good results like today – we must also be honest, Oscar had a problem – but this is racing."
There are two races remaining until the end of the 2023 season. The next stop is in
Las Vegas, which will be a new circuit for everybody. The Aston Martin team principal concluded:
"At the end of the day, you know we need to try and do everything we can over the last races, and then we’ll see where we’re going to end."