Aston Martin stunned everyone at the start of the 2023 season by being surprisingly quick than many expected. These exhibits led their veteran recruit Fernando Alonso to clinch a series of podiums in the initial half of the season. However, as the season progressed the AMR23 went “to the Lions”, as Alonso quoted in Japan. The Silverstone struggled with several problems to slip from P2 to P5 in the constructors’ standings. Although, team boss Mike Krack feels if the same happens in 2024, they won’t consider it as a ‘failure’.
In an interview with Autosport, Krack cited, “If we do not finish in a higher position next year than we do this year, people will see it as a failure. I think you have to differentiate it a little bit more, but the nature of the business is championship position.”
Krack revealed that they knew the team would face problems if the competitors overcame their struggles and improved. That is what happened as Mercedes, Ferrari, and even McLaren made great gains in development to beat Aston Martin.
As their Canadian GP upgrade faltered to give results, the Silverstone team went backwards on pace. Krack highlighted that they in fact encountered these problems sooner in the season than expected. This also points out how much better Aston’s midfield rivals developed relative to them.
While Alonso got a couple of podiums after the summer break, all other three teams had become faster than them by then. Their performance gap to Red Bull also had increased courtesy of the AMR23 regressing after the Montreal upgrades.
From a 2024 perspective, Krack’s tempered expectations are a result of these factors. With rival teams in better shape, the Aston Martin boss is not expecting an easy season and thus not keeping the natural expectation of bettering their 2023 result.
Mike Krack says the new Aston Martin facility is not an “excuse” for any struggles
Aston Martin has been building and finishing up its new factory and state-of-the-art campus in Silverstone as part of its infrastructural upgrade. The team officially opened up and moved into the factory in mid-2023. This also coincided with the time when the AMR23 started to struggle on track. Mick Krack clarified that moving into the new factory is not an “excuse” for their on-track struggles.
Krack highlighted how their focus did not shift toward the Silverstone factory logistics to affect their 2023 car development. He cited that they knew they would expand and the new facility would be ready for use by mid-2023. So, they had planned things accordingly for the same.
The new facility was put under construction after Lawrence Stroll reportedly made a $250 million (£200 million) investment for the same. The new factory and campus is an upgrade of the old facility that has been utilized by Aston’s predecessor teams including Force India, Spyker, and up to Jordan in the 90s.
In March 2021, work started on a 37,000-square-meter site around the old facility. This new facility is a three-phase project of which the first phase finished work in May 2023. This is the main design building of the factory for the race team, where all the crucial operations will happen.
The second phase will house the indigenous wind tunnel for Aston Martin, which is estimated to be completed by Q3 of 2024. Meanwhile, the third phase includes an employee and events experience space, with all three buildings connected by bridges.
As the infrastructure plan suggests, Aston Martin is aiming at the long-term future. Mike Krack also suggests that they should focus on the big picture and not judge team performance on a season-by-season or race-by-race basis. This three or four-year approach is to focus on their championship-winning ambitions and not lose vision for short-term success.
