The combination of the incredible skills of Max Verstappen and a powerful RB19 has led to Red Bull dominating the grid throughout the 2023 season. Due to such dominance, all the teams have started hoping for a slip-up from Verstappen or his car, in order to get the better of the two-time defending world champion. However, the Aston Martin camp no longer shares this feeling, with Soy Motor reporting Mike Krack has a lot of faith in the AMR23 and Fernando Alonso.
Since the start of the season, Aston Martin has emerged as the ‘Dark Horse’ of the grid, with Fernando Alonso spearheading their attack. The Spaniard, who has won all seven of his team’s podiums this season, is equally confident in his team and believes they have not made any big mistakes this season, unlike many of their competitors.
Mike Krack is confident after the developments made to AMR23
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack isn’t too unrealistic in his belief that his team will stand atop the podium at least once before the season ends. The Luxembourger realizes how strong the Verstappen-RB19 combo is and how the biggest chance for any team to defeat him lies in the Dutchman himself making a mistake on the track. But it doesn’t mean the Silverstone-based outfit does not believe they can pull off a win against Red Bull if they don’t make a mistake.
“That’s the first thing we have to recognize, the combination between Max Verstappen and his car is exceptional. In fact, Fernando alluded to that by saying that perhaps the merit he has is not even being recognized. So the level is very high. I’m not saying that Verstappen has to be in trouble for us to win, but we still have to see how they develop in the next races.”
Aston Martin started the season off on a strong foot, securing five podiums from the first six races. As the mid-season break approached, the team seemed to have taken a wrong turn in their developments, giving way to McLaren to improve. However, the restart of the season once again sees Aston Martin vying to be a top team on the grid.
Fernando Alonso explains what went wrong with Aston Martin
With an impressive P2 in Zandvoort, Aston Martin and Alonso picked up their first piece of silverware since June’s Canada GP. The Silverstone-based team held an advantage over the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren but soon saw themselves struggling to keep up with them. In an assessment of what went wrong with them, their veteran driver claimed they saw a mid-season slump because of changing their car too often.
🗣️💥| Mike Krack has apologised to Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll for Aston Martin’s performance slump
👉“I’m really sorry for our drivers that we have not maybe managed to keep up there.“
👉“But rest assured, we will try everything to come back.” pic.twitter.com/qSyFJH1575
— Aston Martin Formula 1 News (@AMF1News) August 3, 2023
While he added there was no clear explanation behind what went wrong, Alonso believes fidgeting too much with the car package could have led to their slump. Aston Martin looked like an outfit that would give Red Bull a tough time towards the beginning of the season with their impressive start, but the case is no longer the same. They now hope to be the outfit that can be the ones to play spoilsport to Red Bull’s hopes of becoming the first team in history to go undefeated throughout a season.
