Krack defends Stroll: 'Not easy as Alonso's teammate'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Mike Krack, team boss at Aston Martin, has spoken up for Lance Stroll. The Canadian is performing disappointingly this year in comparison to his teammate Fernando Alonso. However, Krack believes it should not be forgotten that being a teammate of "one of the best drivers ever" is hugely difficult.
Aston Martin surprise in 2023
Aston Martin is the surprise of the season in 2023. The team finished only seventh in the championship last year, but was on the podium almost after every race at the start of this season. After the Grand Prix in Canada, however, the British team seemed to have lost some ground. All podiums were achieved by Alonso, and Stroll's gap to his teammate is now 102 points.
Krack takes issue with Stroll
"When you look at it, there is a big difference in points. But if you look through to how it came about, how did it happen, you find sensible explanations for how it went," said the Aston Martin team boss in conversation with RaceFans.net. For instance, Krack explains that Stroll was still injured at the beginning of the season. The Canadian missed the winter tests due to a hand injury and fell behind as a result. Krack also indicates that Stroll crashed out with mechanical problems in Saudi Arabia and was unable to score points in Miami due to a team error.
"For us as a team, it [the gap between Stroll and Alonso] is not really a problem. Because you can see like in Hungary, he’s competitive, he’s on similar levels to Fernando. And I think you need not to forget you have one of the greatest drivers of all time as your team-mate, this is not easy."