Aston Martin focuses on internal transformation amid alarming performance

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has disclosed that the team is restructuring its internal operations amid a noticeable performance decline compared to the 2023 season. He emphasized that maintaining patience and focus would be key to achieving the team's long-term objectives in Formula 1.

Krack acknowledges that the team must wait for things to fall into place as the outfit faces challenges posed by multiple staff departures. The most recent exit is of technical director Dan Fallows, which comes months after the signing of F1 design legend Adrian Newey as the team's managing technical partner and shareholder.

Newey is scheduled to officially start his role with the Silverstone team in March, but until then, the team is expected to face a tough period. Both drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll continue to grapple with the car's disappointing performance this season. In the last three races in Austin, Mexico, and Brazil, Aston Martin scored 0 points.

The team, owned by Lawrence Stroll, has yet to secure a podium finish in the current season, which marks a stark contrast to 2023, when Alonso managed to step onto the podium six times. Although Aston Martin maintains its position in P5, the same as last year, the points accumulated so far reveal a substantial drop in performance, highlighting the challenges faced this season.

While the poor performance this year is said to have contributed to the recent staff departures, Krack emphasized the difference in approach between managing a "car team" and the non-car team, suggesting the two halves mustn't be mixed. He said:

"You have a team to develop, and you have a car team.

"And you must be careful not to mix them too much.

"When it is the car is very short term. We speak [in] zero to eight, or 10 or 12 weeks; when you develop a team, [it is] maybe months and years.

"You need to isolate them, not mixing them too much, because very often you can be influenced by a bad result, but also you can be influenced by good results."

With the arrival of former Mercedes Power Unit chief Andy Cowell as CEO in October, Krack acknowledged that Cowell's addition has provided valuable support. When asked if the responsibility for team development still lies with him, he responded:

“Absolutely.

“But I think I have great support here now from Andy [Cowell], with how we split our tasks, how we split our jobs, so I think we're moving in a good direction.”

Alonso exceeded Aston Martin's expectations with standout performances in select Grands Prix. However, Krack emphasized the importance of remaining patient with the results, whether positive or not, as the team works toward reaching a competitive position on the grid. He added:

“We have had some good results over the last weeks [referring to Fernando Alonso's sixth and eighth-place finishes in Azerbaijan and Singapore], where maybe the result was even better than we were thinking.

“So we stay calm there, and we also have to stay calm when you don't score for an event."