27 September 2023 , 15:11
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Mike Krack dismissed the suggestion that Fernando Alonso has been showing signs of frustration with his team.
The Spaniard is no stranger to having strained relationships with his teams over the years. But his partnership with Aston Martin has so far been harmonious, given their better-than-expected performances, especially at the start of the year.
At the moment, though, the team is not quite as competitive as once was the case. Quick car development from other rivals has seen Alonso's team slip down the order dramatically and now often has to fight extremely hard even to secure small points.
He was particularly grumpy about his car during the Japanese Grand Prix. Several messages from the Spaniard to his team painted the picture of a man who was very much displeased with the car at his disposal.
And the team's race strategy was also questioned by Alonso. "You've thrown me to the lions by stopping that early," he complained after a pit stop which clearly came sooner than he had been expecting on a track notorious for chewing up tyres.
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After the race, his complaints were put to team principal Krack. But, when asked if he agreed that it could be a sign that Alonso is growing frustrated at the team, his answer was abundantly clear.
"I think you can listen to the 20 drivers, and everybody is really hard [over the radio]," answered the Luxembourger. Krack went on to suggest that he would have been surprised if the Spaniard had not been voicing his concerns.
He added: "Everybody is passionate. If the driver would not be doing something like that, what driver is it? So, I think, it's fine. For us, we take it as a motivation and it also opens up always a different view of things. So, absolutely fine."
Later questioned on Aston Martin's declining performance, Krack put it down to rivals making more developmental gains in a shorter period of time. He explained: "You see some competitors have really made big progress, some less, and it seems quite simple. We have not done enough.
"Others have filled the gap [to Red Bull], more than the gap has become massively bigger. Surely we would have liked to have more performance from our upgrades, but there is still some to come, so I am confident that we can close the gap a little bit."