Brutally honest. Remarkably revealing. You would expect nothing less from Aston Martin Aramco Team Principal Mike Krack and our candid interview series, UNDERCUT, as Mike gives his unfiltered take on what he believes has been the team’s toughest season on the track.
21 down, three to go. 2024 is the longest F1 season on record, but the end is now in sight. The last few weeks have been hard, with some excellent against-the-odds performances in Qualifying from the team but no points across the last triple-header. Attention and resources have long-since been re-tasked to 2025, but Team Principal Mike Krack also has to live in the present. Never one to shy away from a harsh truth, what we get from Mike is an unvarnished dose of reality. This is what he had to say when the team returned from Brazil...
Shortly before the summer break, your level of confidence was high. Is that still the case?
"It is, though it’s difficult to explain after recent races. The development direction has always been clear, and that’s crucial – perhaps more crucial than people outside realise – but we’ve failed to deliver the steps forward in performance we were expecting and give Lance and Fernando a good enough car. There are important lessons to take from why that’s the case. Perhaps we’ve been a bit too eager to bring updates to the track. There is a constant demand for updates, updates, updates, and at times we were in too much of a rush. There’s something to take from that: quality not quantity.
"When I step back to look at the bigger picture though, things are good. The AMR25 looks encouraging in the wind tunnel; we’ve managed to tempt some of the brightest minds in the sport, like Andy Cowell, Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile, into joining our team; we’ve got new facilities coming on-line all the time; and the project to build the team of the future moves forward at pace.
"There’s a lot going on in the background that convinces me we are going in the right direction – hence my confidence. We’re in a much better place than we were last year because we have learnt a lot – from both successes and missteps. We’re becoming more diligent, formulating our targets in a better way, asking more questions so that we get a better match between what we expect and what we deliver."
It's in tough times, you find out who's strong. This year, it actually took me a while to realise how strong Lance and Fernando have been.
Is expectation management something you have to do a lot of?
"It is – because of the first eight races of 2023. That period was unreal. It gave us a reference point for which we were not yet ready, and I said this at the time. It’s why I say we’re in a much better position now: we’re doing things better than we were then. The competitive position depends very much on what other teams are doing, and some of them are doing a very good job. This is another thing from which we need to learn."
How are Lance and Fernando coping with the situation?
"Credit to them both, they’ve conducted themselves really well. It’s in tough times, you find out who’s strong. This year, it actually took me a while to realise how strong they have been. When facing the media, they’ve been absolutely rock-solid team players.
"It’s incredibly tough for them because they’re the ones out in front of the microphones, facing the criticism, while we haven’t delivered what we said we would deliver. Week in, week out, they’ve stood up and presented a united front. If they’ve been critical, it’s always been fair, and always with the goal of extracting the maximum from the team.
Has their performance gone unnoticed this year?
"When you’re fighting for podiums, there are 50 journalists crowded around, but when you’re fighting for P12, it’s maybe one or two. That’s got to be difficult for them – just because they haven’t come away with any silverware doesn’t mean they’ve put in any less of a drive. They’ve kept any frustrations in check and realise there’s nothing to gain from negativity. To an extent, I’ve been through the same process, and we’ve all become closer because of it. This year has made us closer as a team. That is a massive positive on our journey."
Last time out in Brazil was particularly bruising for Lance and Fernando.
"It wasn’t just Brazil, it was the entire triple-header just completed. No points in the first two, and then Brazil. We’re at the time of the season where the spares inventory is pretty low, and at the third race in three hard weeks on the road, we’re getting by with parts we wouldn’t necessarily want to run if we had a choice. We accept these choices will impact performance because the priority has switched to 2025. So, the deck was stacked against the Lance and Fernando – but it really felt like the weekend just gone was extra tough.
"In reality, it was tough for all the drivers, and we saw many lose control in both Qualifying and the Grand Prix – the new surface was very bumpy but also, when the rain started to fall, very slippery. Our car at the moment is exceptionally difficult to drive, so Lance and Fernando’s problems were magnified. When I say we need to give them better tools, it’s days like Sunday at Interlagos where this is most starkly apparent."
Was Sunday at Interlagos a perfect storm?
"To a certain extent, the problems were baked in: both Lance and Fernando had compromised setups for the Grand Prix, given we hadn’t run in the wet before Sunday morning and you aren’t allowed to check or adjust the mechanical setup of the cars ahead of the race. As always though, it’s a learning experience. When we arrived back at the AMR Technology Campus, figuring out what happened to Lance’s car on the formation lap, and Fernando’s car during the race was a top priority.
"Treacherous wet weather, an incredibly bumpy track, spare components and a compromised mechanical setup all added up to both cars being highly susceptible to wheel locking and we can see in the data that this is what caused the incidents for both drivers.
"Like everyone else in the team, Lance and Fernando are looking forward. Heading into the final part of the season, we know there will be new opportunities in Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Our glass is definitely half full."
Success next year will be to bridge that gap and turn the top four into a top five. If we're back in the Premier League, back in that mix, that will be success.
What does success look like in the remaining Grands Prix of the season?
"The obvious goal for the rest of this season is to retain fifth place on the Constructors’ Championship. The less obvious goal is to take as much learning forward from here into 2025. We’ll still be trying to get the maximum out of the races, but it’s also important to use Friday practice sessions to understand if what we’re doing is the right approach to take into 2025.
What does success look like in 2025?
"For next year, the immediate goal is to start the season in a better place than we started this one and, from what will hopefully be a strong platform, make good development decisions and continually develop the car to make improvements. It is going to be a special season because the switch to working on the 2026 car and the new regulations will come early. My guess is that we won’t see anyone bringing anything new to the track after the summer shutdown unless there is a big title fight.
"Our goal for the year is to come to Melbourne with a much faster and driveable race car. At the moment, we have a division between the top four teams and the other six, and we’re on the wrong side of it. Success next year will be to bridge that gap and turn the top four into a top five. If we’re back in the Premier League, back in that mix, that will be success."
The new wind tunnel and simulator at the AMR Technology Campus are scheduled to come on-line soon. How will they make a difference?
"There is potential for the new simulator and wind tunnel to change the game. The Mercedes wind tunnel in Brackley that we currently use is excellent but having your own tunnel on site takes things to another level – more so when that tunnel is going to be the most technically advanced and represent a new benchmark.
"Why is this a gamechanger? Because it gives you more flexibility. At the moment, we have to execute our wind tunnel runs one after the other. If we have a failure with the model or a reliability issue, we lose the runs. The aerodynamic testing restrictions under which F1 works makes those runs a finite commodity and very precious.
"Having our own tunnel will de-stress the operation – but also allow our aerodynamicists more capacity to be creative. Everything will be so close: the model shop is right next to the tunnel. We can stop a run, wait an hour or two while new parts are produced, and go again."
I've seen a demo of our new simulator and I was absolutely blown away. It felt like being in Star Wars.
When will the team start to see the benefits?
"Commissioning a wind tunnel is a job for specialists, and we’re lucky to have a very passionate team doing that work. There are some great leaders in that group. They don’t get the attention that’s afforded the drivers, senior management or the design team – but they’re probably under even more pressure, and cope with it calmly and lead their teams exceptionally well.
"We won’t begin seeing results the moment the tunnel goes live. Like any new tool, you need to learn how to use it properly. It’s not a case of turning it on and instantly getting better results or greater fidelity. The first goal is to replicate the consistency and quality we get in our current tunnel. The target is to be at least as good as that. On its own, that isn’t easy because that tunnel has been developing for 20 years. After that we need to develop and keep developing.
And what about the new simulator?
"That’s also been a huge undertaking, with a dedicated team pouring all of their experience into making it best-in-class. Like the wind tunnel, I go over to talk to everyone in an effort to increase my own understanding, and the simulator is just amazing. It’s going to improve our fidelity, improve the whole feedback loop the driver will have. I’ve seen a demo and I was absolutely blown away. It felt like being in Star Wars."
Getting depressed about the situation doesn't get us anywhere… but it is tough. I would be lying if I said it wasn't.
Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile haven’t started working at Aston Martin Aramco yet, but it must be exciting to think that they’ll have these tools to use.
"I’m really looking forward to it. With Enrico, we’re gaining huge experience in guiding and leading a technical organisation; with Adrian, you get that vast amount of creativity and whole vehicle understanding. I’m excited to have them here because, firstly, they’re going to help us make quicker cars, and secondly, I’m going to learn a lot from them."
Last month, Andy Cowell joined the team as Group CEO. What’s your take on his first couple of months?
"He’s fully in, didn’t take long to find his feet. He’s still learning how we do things but has no fear of asking, and he’s not afraid of change. The exchange has been really collaborative, and he’s bedding-in really quickly. Andy is a guy who will be serious when he needs to be serious, enjoy a laugh when he doesn’t. He’s a very strong leader but also a good listener."
Heading to Las Vegas, we’re occupying the same position in the Constructors’ Championship that we were last year, but this season hasn’t delivered the podiums and silverware of 2023. Is this the toughest moment the team has faced?
"It’s been our toughest season because we haven’t met our own expectations. We set ourselves the challenge of creating a car that we could continually develop to compete with the top four teams, and we’ve fell short of those ambitions. We have to be honest about that. We have to accept the situation, learn as much from it as we can, understand any mistakes we’ve made and work out the best way to move forward.
"I must also praise the team spirit which has been shown trackside and at Silverstone. In Brazil, against the odds, the team rebuilt two cars in record time. The teamwork has been incredible and has made me very proud. Back at base producing new parts in our new facility in record time to the highest quality. Everyone working together, no moaning, just collaboration. When I see that I am confident of what we can all achieve together. We just need time.
"It would have been nice to not have the difficult time we have had, but the reality is that it’s a useful learning experience. To be honest – that word again – phases like this serve a purpose and we gain understanding from them. We have to tread a fine line of being self-critical but not self-destructive. Getting depressed about the situation doesn’t get us anywhere… but it is tough. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t."
Andy Cowell is still learning how we do things but has no fear of asking, and he's not afraid of change.
Do you feel as though the team has been underperforming?
"I think what this year shows is how competitive and complex the sport it. You don’t turn up and just blow everyone away. The field has tightened this year, the gaps are incredibly small. Qualifying in Mexico was a good example: the car comes alive just a little bit and you’re catapulted into the top 10 when you were expecting elimination in Q1, you’re the weekend’s big winner, but qualify P18 and your weekend is heavily compromised – in either scenario the deciding factor is a tenth of a second. Sometimes less.
"I think this has become normalised. It’s a very exposing sport, quite easy to go from zero to hero and back to zero very quickly. You have to develop a certain resilience and not get too emotionally attached to any one performance. The way through it is to work hard, make good decisions, learn from mistakes."
Does that go double for a Team Principal?
"Definitely. You have to lead by example. When you’re walking through the garage, or sitting on the pitwall, even if you’re feeling downbeat you cannot let that be reflected in your body language. The team will pick up on that because they’re looking at you for cues.
"It’s important to talk through these things, share the vision of what we’re going to do to move forward, make sure everyone buys into that and make sure everyone enjoys the good days when they come along…
“…and they will come.”
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