Mike Krack says the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team are going for the win this weekend, with the Monaco Grand Prix potentially offering the Silverstone-based team their best chance of the season so far to beat Oracle Red Bull Racing.
Aston Martin have been a revelation so far during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with Fernando Alonso having secured four podium finishes in the opening five races to sit third in the Drivers’ Championship standings, while the combined scores of the Spaniard and team-mate Lance Stroll sees the team sit second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, says the high downforce nature of the Monaco circuit may suit their team, although he remains cautious to say they will definitely be in the fight for the win around one of the tightest and slowest tracks on the calendar.
“It would be nice to say yes and do it,” Krack is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “We all have great hopes here for Monaco with our two drivers, we have a great car. In the simulator they were all quite excited.
“But we must not forget the competition. It is true that there are not so many straights here. It’s also true that we have not seen a Red Bull or Ferrari or Mercedes in high downforce configuration, because we did not have a maximum downforce track so far.
“So I think it would be easy to say, ‘Ah we going to be easily at the front.’ I don’t think it will be that easy. I think we will have to be 100% at all times.”
Krack says twelve months ago he would not be contemplating the possibility of an Aston Martin victory in Monaco, but the development of the team in the past twelve months, particularly with the design of their 2023 AMR23, is proof of the hard work being put in behind the scenes.
“There are so many things that can go wrong on our side, on anyone’s side,” Krack added. “So, I think we need to respect first of all, how tough the competition is in F1, how high level our opponents or competitors are here.
“Twelve months ago, we would not speak about winning in Monaco. So I think we need never forget where we’ve come from and keep our heads down and work hard, and then see where we ended up.
“Making predictions, it’s easy, but then failing on your predictions can happen very quickly. So we have seen that we’ve tried to do it the other way around. And I think we need to look at the stars, but keep the feet down and work hard.
“And we have to be 100% minimum to achieve a good result this weekend. If it is better than the podiums we had already we would love to take it, but it will be difficult.”
