Arriving at Aston Martin early in the season, succeeding Ottmar Szafnauer, Mike Krake has been given a mandate to lead Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s team to the top for the next five years.
Posted yesterday at 10:32 PM.
Big order.
Trained at BMW, where he held several positions of responsibility, Luxembourgian engineer is an optimist, even if Stroll is not known for his patience. “We get along very well,” he said Thursday during a lightning-and-thunder press conference, a storm that hit the capital at the end of the afternoon. “We have a very clear vision of what we want to do, and very high expectations as well, but we have the means to achieve them.”
The resources are already in place, and the team is currently building a state-of-the-art plant at Silverstone in Britain. “The work is progressing quickly and it will be a really big improvement when it’s fully completed,” Crack explained.
Currently, our employees work in several buildings, and several locations. Bringing them together in the same place will have very positive effects on efficiency, but also on team spirit.
Mike crack
It remains to join the senior teams. Aston Martin did not hesitate to “lure” several engineers from Red Bull, a maneuver that led to accusations of cheating by the opposing team. If Crack confirms his staff have nothing to scold themselves for, he’s also a bit amused at seeing Christian Horner worried about Aston Martin’s performance.
“I think this whole thing will lead to nothing and Red Bull should focus on the championship fight. We’re not really worried, because we didn’t do anything wrong,” he said in Monaco.
However, the introduction of a revamped Aston Martin AMR22, clearly inspired by Red Bull, allowed the team to move up the hierarchy. And so the Monaco event was a turning point for Aston Martin, with Sebastian Vettel reaching the third stage of qualifying before finishing 10th. He did better in Baku, getting a new qualification in Top 10 And sixth place. If Lance Stroll only scored two points, his teammate’s recent performance gives hope that the Canadian will soon be able to join him in the fight for the points.
Photo by Olivier Jean, Press
Lance’s Outing
In fact, Lance was often the victim of a lot of misfortune. Our data shows that our drivers perform on a par and I have no doubts about the motivation behind each.
Mike crack
About the “new” Aston Martin, Crack is content to say: “There have been a number of notable improvements – there will be more, and it’s still here – and we think we have more development potential. Sebastian did well in Baku and the track is a little bit similar here in Montreal, although It’s a little faster.
“We do not believe that the conditions will be favorable for our car, but we remain optimistic and will continue to work towards moving up the hierarchy.”
In the medium term, Crack hopes to see Aston Martin climb the constructors’ championship standings. The team, who is currently tied for eighth place with Haas, is seeking to reach the middle of the group. “We have a good team, the right people in the right places. We have shown that we can respond and find ways to improve. I think we will not finish the season where we are now…”
Vettel’s comeback – he missed the first two races of the season due to COVID-19 – has raised questions about the rest of his career. At 34, the quadruple world champion questioned his desire to stay in F1. And we’re talking about the impending arrival of Mick Schumacher at Aston Martin, along with the unremovable Lance Stroll.
In an interview with a German specialist periodical, Crack said: “When you have someone like Sebastian, you have to try to keep him. It’s the combination of leadership quality, experience and a very positive personality that keeps us going. It would be good to create the conditions so that he can continue to use his talent with us.” . »
