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Aston Martin: 'Not realistic that we would have beaten Verstappen'
Mike Krack is pleased with Fernando Alonso's second place (and fifth podium finish in six Grands Prix) in Monaco. The Aston Martin team boss had hoped to have a serious chance of winning for the first time in the principality, but Max Verstappen was simply too fast, which Krack accepts.
"It was not a communication error, it was planned that way," Krack said when asked by ServusTV why Alonso got slicks screwed under his AMR23 at his first pit stop instead of intermediates. The driver and the team had misjudged the situation. "We thought it was a short shower [...] When he went out, we saw rain on top of the hill."
The team boss went on to explain that Alonso had to come in for a pit stop at that point, as the hard tyres were completely worn out after 55 laps. There was no more grip due to the graining, and that is exactly what you need as a driver in the wet. The choice of mediums soon proved to be the wrong one, and a lap later the two-time world champion was already back at his team for intermediates (still).
Verstappen too fast
The question of whether there would have been more in it than second place had the intermediates been chosen straight away is not so relevant to Krack. "We had hoped for more, but you always have to look at where you stand with your performance in the race. Max kept life in his mediums for a long time and pulled away at the front. We let him go to save the tyres. Max was able to keep increasing his lead. It is not realistic to think we would have beaten him."