Mike Krack, the Principal of Aston Martin, has come to the defense of the team’s strategy call in the Monaco Grand Prix, which resulted in Fernando Alonso missing a potential opportunity to challenge race winner Max Verstappen.
As rain began to fall in the latter part of the race, drivers initially tried to navigate the affected section around Mirabeau on dry tires. However, as the rain spread across the circuit, this option became untenable. Unfortunately for Alonso, who had recently pitted to switch from hard to medium tires, the rain arrived shortly after his pit stop. He had been set to run an alternate strategy compared to leader Verstappen.
Krack explained that the team’s decision was not a gamble but rather based on their radar, which indicated no rain was expected. They reacted accordingly to the information they had at the time.
“We thought it was only a short shower, our radar was not very good because we did not expect any actually,” Krack stated in an interview with F1TV. “And then it came and it came much, much more than we were anticipating. So we had to come in because the hard tires, they had already a lot of laps on them and they were starting to cool down, and then you really are just sliding. So we knew we had to come in.”
Krack further explained that at the time of Alonso’s pit stop, it was not raining heavily in that particular area, and they expected the high ground temperature to quickly dry up the track. Thus, they decided to fit the medium tires. However, soon after Alonso left the pits, the rain intensified, forcing them to make another pit stop.
The ultimate winner of the race, Max Verstappen, had a dominant performance, finishing 28 seconds ahead of Alonso. Krack expressed doubt that the rain-affected strategy call would have significantly altered the outcome, stating, “In hindsight, I think it would not have changed much, to be honest. Max was strong today.”
Despite the missed opportunity, it was still an impressive outing for Alonso. His second-place finish marked his best result in Aston Martin colors, and he closed the gap to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ Championship to just 12 points, securing a position ahead of Perez in second place.
As Aston Martin evaluates their strategy approach and learns from the Monaco race, they will continue to strive for competitive performances in the upcoming races, aiming to maximize their opportunities for success.
