At Imola, Fernando Alonso makes his way down the pit lane.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has admitted that the AMR24 car is “difficult to drive” after Fernando Alonso effectively treated the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as a test session.
Aston Martin were among a number of teams to bring upgrades to Imola, with the team’s latest package featuring modifications to the front wing, nose, floor, diffuser, engine cover and rear corner.
Aston Martin admit AMR24 hard to drive after Fernando Alonso crash
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Pablo Hidalgo
Despite the extensive list of improvements, Aston Martin had a troubled weekend with Alonso crashing out of final practice before being slowest of all in qualifying.
Alonso proceeded to commence the race from the pit lane, concluding in a faraway 19th position, while his teammate Lance Stroll made progress from P13 on the starting grid and secured two points by finishing ninth.
After the race, Krack spoke to several media outlets, including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher, and expressed his satisfaction with earning two points for ninth place. He acknowledged that it had been a difficult weekend for Aston Martin, but considered the outcome to be quite favorable. Krack mentioned that the cars of Alonso and Stroll had distinct characteristics on race day due to the team’s decision to try out different setups.
Question marks over Imola F1 upgrades
Potential weakness in upgraded McLaren MCL38 highlighted by Oscar Piastri
Ferrari SF-24 ‘inconsistencies’ come to light for Carlos Sainz after big Leclerc gap
He stated that starting from our position at Imola made it challenging. However, he considered it a satisfactory outcome to secure two points.
The car’s capabilities are evident, however, driving it has proven to be challenging.
“We experienced a few setbacks over the weekend, with Alonso’s mishap on Saturday being the most significant one. It put us at a disadvantage for the rest of the time, so we took away some valuable lessons from it.”
Our intention was to gain more knowledge, which is why we made the decision to begin from the pit lane and make modifications to the car in an attempt to improve its performance.
Overall, our intention was to improve upon our previous efforts, but the events of Saturday somewhat hindered our progress.
“The cars exhibited notable distinctions. Following the debrief session, we observed variations in modifications between the two vehicles.”
“It’s not always a matter of being entirely positive or negative, but I believe it was beneficial to engage in that experience in order to maximize learning at a rapid pace.”
Krack acknowledged that there were slight variations in the aerodynamic specification between Alonso and Stroll’s cars after the upgrade.
He emphasized the difficulty of staying competitive in the development race, especially with the introduction of updates by prestigious teams like Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes at Imola, just two weeks after McLaren unveiled their new package in Miami.
He expressed dissatisfaction with only earning two points, acknowledging that others are also introducing improvements, making it a constant competition. To stay competitive, one must make a genuine effort to stay informed and comprehend their actions.
“It is undeniably challenging, and we must not underestimate its difficulty. With the exception of one team, I believe everyone had a comprehensive list of upgrades at Imola, which highlights the high level of competitiveness throughout the entire field.”
“It requires persistent effort, continuous innovation, and a deep comprehension to excel in this.”
Alonso verified his commitment to equip the team with abundant valuable data at Imola. Speaking to DAZN F1 Spain, he stated, “I made an effort to offer the team additional information and data by utilizing two distinct cars and two distinct setup configurations.”
The weekend had its share of highs and lows, and now it remains to be seen whether the team can compile all this information to improve their performance in Monaco.
Read next: Uncovered: Ferrari’s major SF-24 upgrades that could power them to Monaco win
