Aston Martin: "Not playing the lottery" key to run of F1 podiums

Alonso clinched his fourth podium in five races in Miami after what he described as a lonely race to third behind Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, such was his advantage over fourth-placed George Russell's Mercedes and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in fifth.

With the form of both Mercedes and Ferrari fluctuating wildly from race to race and from qualifying laps to long runs, team boss Krack thinks Alonso's consistency shows Aston Martin is "not playing the lottery" with its development and set-up choices.

"I think it shows we are a strong team," Krack replied when asked what the key was to its consistency as a newcomer in F1's top four.

"It shows that we are not taking gambles, we are not playing the lottery, but we make choices based on data and based on the results we have.

"And that is also one of the reasons why we can be as consistent."

But Miami GP qualifying showed Aston can also get it wrong. In an attempt to save a set of soft tyres, Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll were sent out on their used set of softs for the second Q1 runs. That strategy backfired due to the massive track improvement, with Stroll being eliminated in 18th.

"We made quite a big mistake [in qualifying]," Krack admitted. "So, we have been fault-free on the development but in qualifying it was not great."

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position, arrives on the podium

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz / Motorsport Images

With still 18 races to run and F1's 2023 development war only just getting started, questions remain over whether the Silverstone outfit will be able to continue its rapid in-season development, which will be required to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari.

According to Krack, the team is also still on the fence on just how strong it will be on some of the high-speed outliers on the calendar, starting with July's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

"I think Monza, Las Vegas, Spa maybe there's a question mark," explained Krack. "But there is still time so we can do some developments.

"I think as a team you need to learn how your car behaves, how your car is compared to the competition. We hear left and right that Mercedes has big steps coming so we must not let up.

"But I think also we must not focus on the single race but take them as they come now and try to do the best in each of them."