Aston Martin set ‘magical’ target for long-awaited Fernando Alonso victory
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso celebrates third place at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Jeddah, March 2023.
Mike Krack has predicted Fernando Alonso will win his 33th grand prix on the streets of Monte Carlo in Monaco.
Alonso’s 2023 has so far been his finest since his Ferrari days and yet, one thing still eludes him: a Formula 1 win.
The wait goes on for Alonso to secure his 33rd victory and his first since 2013 and with the Red Bull still looking by far the most dominant car on track, the Spaniard and Aston Martin may be waiting a little while yet.
But, given how unpredictable F1 can be, and the fact that the Aston Martin car may have an advantage over the Red Bull at some circuits, team boss Mike Krack has dared to dream when Alonso may complete Mission 33.
“I think there are some tracks where the combination of this driver (Alonso) with this car may still be more magical,” he told DAZN, as per Marca.
“Come on, we’ll try Monaco. We have shortcomings on very long straights, it’s no secret. We’ve seen it and we have to work on it a lot. On tracks where this doesn’t matter so much is where we can have more confidence, but being fast in these races isn’t everything. You have to be fast, you have to finish, not make mistakes and then see what the result is.”
The Monaco race is the seventh on the 2023 calendar and already a development arms race has begun, meaning Aston Martin have work to do if they want to retain their P2 spot and think about a title push in the years to come.
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“I think the car is good,” Krack said. “We’ve been competitive in the first three races, so I think we can confirm that. Now it’s a development race with the other teams, who can bring improvements and when.
“It will be difficult to keep up with the big players. We are not fighting with small teams, we are fighting against very large teams, very experienced and with great infrastructures, but we will fight. We are a team full of people who are very dedicated to their work, who are also good. We are not going to sit idly by.
Krack has also previously suggested that the main work of their rivals has not done been “yet” and said he expects both Ferrari and Mercedes to make progress.
“What I think has happened is that maybe the others haven’t done it yet 100%. I say ‘yet’ on purpose.” the Luxembourger told the BBC.
“This allowed us to make that jump from seven to two, but it’s probably more like four/five, maybe one or two places, depending on how everyone else has done their job.”
