Aston Martin F1 chief reacts to claims they are faster than Hamilton's Mercedes

27 February 2023 , 19:00

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Aston Martin's AMR23 looked to be very quick in pre-season testing (Image: Getty Images)

Mike Krack moved to manage expectations about his team's competitiveness heading into the new Formula 1 season – but admitted the new Aston Martin car looks to be in good shape.

It is difficult to draw concrete conclusions from winter testing. The timesheets are not necessarily a reliable indicator of the balance of power on the grid, given that each team approaches the pre-season in a different way.

But race simulation – something every team always tries to get a feel for during testing – can be used as a decent yardstick against which to measure where the cars are at in terms of performance. And Aston Martin look particularly well-placed in that regard.

Fernando Alonso in particular looked great during his long run, while the AMR23 in general showed strong pace throughout the three days. Rival teams have noted that Aston Martin are looking strong, while some pundits including Sky's pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz think they could be quicker even than Mercedes at the start of the year.

Krack is not so sure about that – publicly, at least. He told reporters: "I think it's very, very difficult on such a test to make a proper judgement. I'll give you an example: Last year, we were P4, P4 and P10 over the three days, and we seem very similar now. And in the [Bahrain Grand Prix] race we were out in Q1.

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"So just to tell you how much a test like that can give you an indication of where you are. I think for us, we must not lose our goals. Our goal was to make a step forward in the performance of the car, in the team. And this still remains our objective. If we manage it or not, we will see next week."

Mike Krack wants to manage expectation despite Aston Martin's strong pace in testing (Getty Images)

Regarding the team's strong pace shown in testing and the reaction from their rivals, Krack urged caution. He added: "The race simulation was certainly not bad, but we must also not forget that the track conditions were really good. You had a lot of rubber because there were other teams using new tyres a lot of times, also with soft rubber.

"And this is helping when you do a race simulation. So again, it is nice to have good long runs, but still you need to be really put them into the right context and let's not start dreaming. I think Fernando said it earlier, there are no miracles in F1.

"I think we need to keep our feet on the ground. Our expectations are always high, and this time of year, everybody wants to do well and talk others into some roles. We are realists. We have clear objectives that is improve compared to where we were last year. And then we will see."

Daniel Moxon