Aston Martin not turning off development, preparing F1 Dutch GP upgrade

The Silverstone-based squad started the 2023 campaign as Red Bull’s main rival, but has faced some recent struggles that dropped it back into the chasing pack behind F1’s most dominant team.

Team principal Mike Krack explained ahead of last weekend’s Belgian GP that its dip in form was related to a change of car characteristics – labelled ‘side effects’ – that were triggered by recent developments.

It appears to have turned the corner in its situation in Belgium last weekend, as Fernando Alonso finished fifth after feeling that the AMR23 was back to normal again.

With the team hopeful that it is on the road to recovery, Krack has suggested that its performance over the second half of the campaign will be lifted by new parts that will come through the rest of the season - including in the Netherlands.

Asked when upgrades were coming over the remainder of the campaign, he replied: “All the races have upgrades, and if you have a look at the [upgrade] list for Zandvoort, you will see and you will read something.”

While some of Aston Martin’s rivals are switching focus to their 2024 cars, Krack says it will continue to push on with its current challenger.

“We are not switching off the tap,” he said about development. “It’s full on.”

Krack said the team feels that its best way forward throughout the remainder of the campaign is continual development to help build on the dramatic step forward it made over last winter.

Mike Krack, Team Principal, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Asked if there was anything major that could push it to the front, he said: “The magic bullet, I wish I could confirm that.

“But we have set-up a plan, and a development plan, and it was based on continuously developing the car. We follow that and obviously you need to see what directions you take, depending on what happens.

“Also we have now an opportunity after 12 races to take a [reflection] point, and we have 10 times more points than we had at this stage last time. We are P3 in the championship and obviously the expectations rise with your results.

“But you also must not forget where you come from. And in all the push for development, we also have to realise that we have made big steps.

“It is important to also zoom out and see what you have achieved.”