Signing Adrian Newey, opening the second phase of the AMR Technology Campus and racing on the streets of Baku. Team Principal Mike Krack covers a lot of ground in his latest column.
A big race in Baku this weekend at a track that should play slightly more to the strengths of the AMR24, plus the opening of the second phase of our state-of-the-art home. In this latest column from Mike Krack, our Team Principal reflects on what that means for the team, as well as the arrival of Adrian Newey and an important F2 weekend in Baku for our junior driver Jak Crawford.
This is Mike on…
Adrian... but also Lawrence
"A couple of days ago, when I was signing-off the press release about to go out announcing Adrian Newey's arrival at Aston Martin Aramco, I realised how privileged I was to be here. First Fernando Alonso, now Adrian Newey, two of the all-time greats – two of my all-time greats – in the team at the same time, and I get to be part of it.
"The reason Adrian is coming here is because he believes in the project, but also because he likes a challenge. The team needs to step up, grab this opportunity and use it as a confidence boost. We should remain humble, but we should become more self-confident.
"It isn't just about Adrian's belief. It also shows the absolute commitment of Lawrence Stroll. He has an incredible knack of convincing people. I suspect over the years there's been a tendency for teams to approach Adrian with an open chequebook – but honestly, I suspect it isn't what motivates him.
"Plenty of teams have the resources to write a big cheque; we have one of the most exciting projects in Formula One, with all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, such as our new Technology Campus and wind tunnel, our talented team of people and great partners like Honda and Aramco. Adrian believes in the huge potential here to do something very special. Now we have to make it happen."
Reframing the question
"One of the nice things about finally announcing that Adrian is joining the team is that I can stop dodging the question! It's easy to predict what the next question is going to be though: how are you going to make it work?
"The team has a world-class roster of top engineering talent – either recruited over the last few years or developed internally – and it's now a case of making sure everyone is working in harmony. Everyone in the team is hungry for victory and everyone is on the same page: focused on working together to make the fastest car. And that's good because the question that comes immediately after that one is: 'When are you going to win?'
The second phase of the AMR Technology Campus
"With everything else that's been going on, it's easy for the news that the second phase of the Technology Campus is now open to get lost in the signal – and it shouldn't because this is an important milestone for the team. It integrates another series of departments and facilities into the first phase of the Campus, but also adds staff services like a wellness centre and restaurant.
"Building our new Technology Campus is a huge part of the plan. Take the model shop, where we build our models to be used in the wind tunnel. That department has just relocated into the new building and, some of them having spent decades working in a room without windows, finally have a view. That alone is significant, but there's more to it: they were previously cut-off from the mainstream, working remotely.
"Last year, I made the point of taking Lance and Fernando out to the old model shop to say hello – but it was all too easy to forget it was there. Now, they're integrated in the middle of the operation and, like everybody else that we've brought into the new facility, it's a lot easier to make sure everyone feels part of it."
The importance of lunch
"After the summer break, I mentioned that one thing I'd decided to do differently in the second half of the year, was to be more sociable at lunchtime, rather than sitting at my desk, trying to eat while reading emails. With the restaurant open, I've been taking the half hour. It's a golden opportunity to spend time with people throughout the team, to hear what they think about how the team is operating, what the problems are, what's working well. The food's great but the insight is invaluable."
Baku
"With all the noise around Adrian, the outside world hasn't been asking many questions about Azerbaijan, but it's business as usual this weekend. Baku has the typical street circuit 90-degree corners, the walls are very close, there are always incidents and, if you keep your nose clean, there will be opportunities. The long main straight, and lack of long corners, plays to the strengths of the AMR24, hopefully enough to be at the front of the midfield. Lance and Fernando are very well motivated this week – but then the whole team is in a very positive and energetic frame of mind.
"The team won its first trophy here – with Sebastian Vettel in 2021, and back in 2017, Lance took his first podium at this circuit, so it's a happy place. It's also a race I really like coming to. There's been a lot of investment in infrastructure, it's very clean, very well-organised – very strict too, not a place to mess around – with amazing places to run, to walk, to eat. If people ever ask which race they should visit, this is one of those I mention, because I think it's cool."
Jak
"We have F2 with us in Baku, which means Jak Crawford's on track. He scored points in both races at Monza but didn't really capitalise on a chaotic weekend for the championship leaders. Hopefully he can have a really big weekend here – everything is still to play for.
"Jak's a really good driver and a great asset for our team. He was in the simulator straight after Monza, where he's very popular: talented driver, good feedback, very consistent, very enthusiastic, easy to get along with. Whenever F2 is on the F1 programme, he has a desk set up in our engineering office so he can listen-in to the briefings and find things he can use. It was his initiative to work like that, but something we're happy to accommodate because it helps us and it helps him."
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