Mike Krack doesn’t understand the word ‘hype’, so he asks his assistant when the media link that cocktail of anticipation and euphoria to Aston Martin’s current situation: “That’s the dynamics, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. The expectations are high at this time of the year and we all want to do well. We have the clear goal of improving what we did last year, but that’s it.” The ‘main team’ of the Silverstone team does not listen to all those rival engineers who place the AMR23 as one of the benchmarks on the grid for the Bahrain GP this weekend.
From the pre-season tests, he only draws a clear conclusion: “Red Bull is ahead. And I think the three ‘top’ teams are very strong. I don’t know if the others have put their cards on the table. The Alfa Romeo is strong, Haas did very good laps. They are all very good teams and have done their homework in winter. It will be a very tough fight.” Small-mouthed, Krack would settle for “being in front of the sixth or seventh car, improving on last year.” At least he does affirm that the first version of this car is solid: “It has an aggressive approach, with the spending ceiling and the intensity of the races you have to start with a good base. That was one of the goals.”
Alonso’s race simulation on Saturday afternoon was impeccable, but the Luxembourg leader distanced himself: “It wasn’t bad, it’s true, but the track conditions were very good. There was a lot of rubber, other teams were on new tires and that helps. But everything in its context. Fernando has said it, there are no miracles in Formula 1″. In training, there were still pending tasks, the boss admits: “You never feel well prepared, there is a list of tasks that we have to work on, because the tests only have three days and in the race there are many things that can go wrong ”.
Now it’s time to really compete. Waiting to find out if Stroll is ready to drive an F1, Drugovich is in the bedroom: “Felipe did a very good job, he had never driven the car before. He is thoughtful and calm, it is a surprise to see him so calm. He did everything we asked and he didn’t make a single mistake. We are very happy with how he has fared ”. And on the other side of the garage, a two-time world champion in the seat that belonged to Vettel: “It is very difficult to evaluate them, they are both very, very fast and world champions. But one is Latin and the other is German. Krack does not compare: “It is difficult to compare the two, they have their way of communicating and managing things. It is unfair to say who is better or worse, they are both great champions”. The track will.
