Aston Martin boss admits F1 team ’behind the plan’

Team boss Mike Krack admits Aston Martin is "far behind the plan" with performance progress in 2024 so far.

Last year, the rapidly-developing and growing Silverstone based team surprised and impressed with Fernando Alonso’s string of podium finishes.

But in 2024 so far, Alonso admits Aston Martin is no longer among Formula 1’s best five teams.

Krack, however, is staying positive.

"Yes, I think so," he said when asked if Aston Martin will return to the podium this season. "I am convinced that we can.

"The question is when."

Krack admits Aston Martin has made inferior progress on the aerodynamic side so far this season, at least in comparison with its direct rivals.

"Aerodynamic development is the main performance differentiator in F1," he explained. "But it takes time. Many weeks can pass before you have something you have discovered actually get to the car."

Krack admitted that correcting the situation will be even harder as Formula 1 now faces a "very intense" period with the Barcelona-Austria-Silverstone triple header.

"You are constantly rushing to get the parts and it is never fast enough," he said. "So you have to be patient.

"There’s also no point in complaining that other pieces aren’t ready yet, as we still have plenty of races ahead of us."

At the same time, Krack says he is being honest about the situation.

"Last year, around this time, the press said we were well ahead of the plan. Now, we are far behind the plan.

"But I think last year we were better than we thought, and I have always said that, when you are on an upward trajectory, you can still go up or down, depending on what your rivals are doing. But you always have to keep the goal in sight."

Krack said the scrutiny of the media can also be challenging.

"At Imola, the first question from the journalists was ’So the updates are not working?’ But sometimes we judge a team’s performance too much, just as we also judge the drivers too quickly.

"So I will be more careful with what I say. We have a plan on how to develop the team from an infrastructure point of view, we have partners coming in with Honda, we have a great partner with Aramco, so I think there is no reason to be negative," the German added.