Aston Martin says it’s focused on going “flat out” and performing to the best of its ability in Abu Dhabi, not on overhauling F1 rival McLaren for fourth place in the championship.
Team Silverstone’s remarkable start to its 2023 campaign positioned it second in the Constructors’ standings behind Red Bull up until the summer.
Thereafter, Aston’s underperformance relative to its rivals progressively pushed the team lower in the pecking order, while McLaren gathered momentum.
Eventually, the Woking-based outfit was able to reel in and overtake its rival, and even build itself a small advantage thanks to its strong results in the back half of the season.
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But last weekend in Las Vegas, Aston outscored McLaren by 10 points thanks in large point to Lance Stroll’s spirited drive to P5, which allowed the team to practically slice in half its deficit to its closest rival ahead of next weekend’s final round of racing of the year.
Aston team principal Mike Krack says his outfit won’t spend its time following McLaren’s every move, but will simply do its best on its own, and hope that its efforts yield as many point as possible.
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“For me, it doesn't change anything, compared to two or three races ago,” Krack said. “We can only influence what we do ourselves.
“The first bit is we have to have a fast car in Abu Dhabi, because we are behind. So it's something that we are not on the defence, we have to go flat out, and then we see.
“We have to do the best possible, and then we see what is the result.”
Aston’s pace of late is a marked improvement over its previous period of subdued performance, during which the team experimented with various aero elements developed for 2024.
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Krack denied however that the team had lost its way during that time.
“We were not lost before,” he said. “I think it will be maybe arrogant to say we are on top of everything.
“I said it many times, the cars are very complex. I think there is a lot to learn still for us. So I will not say that we are on top of everything. But we have learned a lot this year.”
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