The Sky Sports F1 panel has been ranking the team principals of all 10 teams while reviewing the 2023 season. The panel involved David Croft and Ted Kravitz besides host Matt Baker in a two-part feature on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. A peculiar observation was the praise Kravitz had for Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack. The 49-year-old ranked Krack 2nd out of the 10 bosses on one crucial category of human relations, above Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.
Kravitz had his reasoning on why he felt Krack was great at managing human relations in 2023. He stated, “He kept the owner happy, he kept the person above him Martin Whitmarsh happy, he kept Fernando Alonso happy. He kept his technical people happy, he kept Lance Stroll happy, and all of that made him the 2nd best in terms of human relations team principal of the year.”
Krack who became the Aston Martin boss last year had a breakout season to deal with in 2023. With the Silverstone team suddenly hitting the form of getting consistent podiums, Krack had a lot on his plate. As the team dipped in form, the 51-year-old had to keep things stable at the team to avoid panic.
When Lawrence Stroll demanded the team to deliver a win this season, Krack handled the situation well to manage the Aston Martin owner’s expectations. Likewise when Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll got frustrated at different races such as Japan and Qatar, Krack’s leadership behind the door helped to calm them down.
The Luxembourger was also diplomatic enough to handle the criticism against Lance Stroll. Krack had an intricate balance to achieve as Stroll is the team owner’s son, so the criticism of his poor performances will always be a public relations nightmare.
However, Kravitz and Croft were not able to rank Krack highly on other aspects such as media management and scheduling. Overall in their final consolidated ranking, the Aston Martin boss only finished 8th.
How things got tough for Mike Krack as Aston Martin dropped off in 2023
The dream start to Aston Martin‘s season slowly derailed as the season progressed. After the Spanish GP, Fernando Alonso was only able to get two podiums, relative to the six before. The Canadian GP was the tipping point that steadily started the team’s decline in performance.
Once Alonso’s P2 finish in Montreal was behind, Aston Martin could not match its rivals. Mercedes, Ferrari, and even McLaren developed better than them. Mike Krack and his team justified it as their mistake in choosing the development path for the AMR23.
Krack had to deal with several questions about why the team declined so much. The 51-year-old managed to media to his level best but was not able to explain and back his assurances with results.
Now for the 2024 season, the Aston Martin boss seems to be managing expectations. He stated that the last few races were positive for the team and could help them for next year. However, they are not going to be in a “hangover” from 2023. That means Aston is not expecting to be good or bad, rather it would be a clean slate.
