Mike Krack has defended the performances of Lance Stroll during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, feeling that no one outside of the team knows the full story.
Stroll has failed to score a podium in the first twelve races of the season whereas his Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team team-mate Fernando Alonso has taken six, including a couple of second place finishes in Monaco and Canada.
Alonso currently sits third in the Constructors’ Championship and Stroll ninth, with the gap between them one hundred and two points.
Stroll started the year on the back foot after suffering broken wrists in a pre-season cycling accident but took a remarkable sixth place in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix despite only driving the AMR23 for the first time in practice.
However, he has only scored a better result once, courtesy of a fourth-place finish in Australia, but Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, says the Canadian has not had the best of luck so far in 2023 and the championship standings do not tell the whole story.
“It’s not necessarily the podiums. For me, Lance’s comeback from injury and Fernando’s special approach in Monaco are what stand out,” Krack said in an interview on the official Aston Martin website when talking about his highlights of 2023 so far.
“Lance showed what a fighter he is when he jumped back in the car with broken wrists and a broken toe. The heart it took to do that lifted everyone and got us going in a really positive frame of mind.
“Lance hasn’t had a lot of luck this year: aside from his broken bones, a few things have gone against him that really weren’t his fault.
“The championship table tells a story, but inside the team we know what really happens.”
