Aston Martin is not troubled by the criticism directed at Alonso following the disappointing Formula 1 Singapore GP
Aston Martin Formula 1 team principal Mike Krack has no objection to Fernando Alonso's characterization of the AMR23 as "impossible to drive" during the Singapore GP.
Alonso, who famously once referred to his Honda power unit as a "GP2 engine," made this statement during a challenging race in which he finished in 11th place. He incurred a five-second penalty for a pit entry mistake, endured a lengthy pit stop delay, and grappled with a car that had an issue involving a dislodged aerodynamic component.
Singapore marked the first time in 2023 that Alonso, the team's sole representative in the race after Lance Stroll's qualifying accident, failed to secure points. Mike Krack, the team principal of Aston Martin, empathized with Alonso's frustration behind the wheel.
When asked about Alonso's comment, Krack stated, "As a team, we need to acknowledge a driver's criticism. Clearly, the car's performance didn't meet his expectations or the standards he's accustomed to, and in such cases, it's perfectly understandable. We want our drivers to give their all, and it's natural for athletes to react this way. So, it's not a problem."
Alonso had been on course for a respectable sixth place in Singapore before his race unraveled. Krack explained, "We believed we had a good pace. We knew from the beginning that keeping up with the front-runners would be challenging. Everything seemed to go smoothly with the medium tires. However, after switching to the hard tires following the safety car period, we encountered difficulties that we need to investigate. At one point, we even considered whether we could complete the race with a satisfactory level of performance when the virtual safety car emerged. Subsequently, we made the decision to change tires, and a sequence of incidents, including the penalty and a problematic pit stop, left us in a disadvantageous position."
Alonso had demonstrated strong performance during long practice runs in Singapore on Friday, and Krack admitted that the team needed to thoroughly evaluate what transpired over the weekend.
"We need to thoroughly understand the circumstances," he said. "There was some damage to the car that we must assess to determine its extent. We encountered an issue with one of the suspension fairings, an aerodynamic component. This became apparent during the pit stop and in the images we saw. Additionally, we utilized three different tire specifications. Singapore is a circuit where cars run closely in traffic most of the time, which can significantly impact performance. It's difficult to gauge how much others are saving or managing. This race has always been one of the most challenging to analyze."
Krack downplayed Alonso's pit entry error, which led to the penalty.
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