Mike Krack: "Aston Martin is the best opportunity for Fernando Alonso to get what he wants"

MADRID, 25 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Mike Krack, 'Team Principal' of Aston Martin, the team where Fernando Alonso will race from next season, is convinced that they are "the best opportunity" that the Spanish driver has "to get what he wants", and that they are not he has chosen "neither for status nor for money", also confessing that it will not be "easy" for them to manage him because his "champion nature" will cause him to "constantly" challenge them to progress.

"Fernando sees the potential of the team, the new facilities we are building, the staff we are hiring, the investment we are making and the steps forward the brand is taking. Aston Martin F1 is the best opportunity he has to get what he wants." "He commented in an interview for the Aston Martin website.

The Luxembourger assures that "Fernando is a running machine" and that he is "completely focused on racing", something that his new team has offered him when signing him. "He is convinced of his performance and competing at the highest level and he sees Aston Martin as the team that will allow him to do so," he added.

Krack also recounted how the signing of the Asturian was forged, an operation that was closed quickly. "On Wednesday afternoon after the Hungarian GP, ​​when Sebastian (Vettel) confirmed to us his intention to retire, we formally contacted Fernando Alonso and a couple of days later the deal was done," he warned.

Aston Martin had proposed a renewal to the German driver, but the surprise of his withdrawal forced them to find a solution. "We were focused on Sebastian and we pressed him to know his answer before the summer, because the longer the negotiations go on, the more problems appear," he said.

However, contrary to popular belief, the two-time world champion will clearly not be the team's first driver. "Fernando and Lance (Stroll) will have the same status, Fernando hasn't asked us for anything like that," he said.

"There has been a lot of talk in the media that we have offered him things like being number one or a great salary, but I can assure you that Fernando does not do this for status or money. What has convinced him is the opportunity to be part of a team that is growing and in which he can have a real impact", settled.

The man who will be Fernando Alonso's team leader recognizes that "obviously the offer has to be proportional to a driver of Fernando's caliber and experience", but that "the speed with which an agreement was reached says a lot about the fact that things like the salary or the clauses were not the main motivations for Fernando". "As he said before the break, when two parties want to agree on something, it only takes ten minutes," he added.

Mike Krack believes that the relationship between Alonso and the team will be very important when it comes to developing the car if both parties really want to grow and fight for racing. "We have to be prepared to anticipate what he is going to ask us: the ideas that he is going to have or what he expects from the car, what steps he thinks the team should take first or what he has done in other teams that he thinks we should be doing. ", he declared.

This is how he believes that, when they have the answers to those questions, the two-time world champion will "know" that they are "at the 'top'" and that they are "giving their all". "Which is what he expects of himself and everyone around him," he remarked.

For Krack, "the most important thing is to be transparent and honest", qualities that Fernando Alonso has. "But it's also important to remember that drivers like him only get what they've got because they keep asking questions, pushing and wanting more and more. I'd be disappointed if Fernando didn't behave like that," he noted.

"Do I think it will be easy to manage Fernando Alonso? No, I think it will not be easy. He is going to constantly challenge us to push us to go further, that is the nature of a true champion, but it is also what ensures that he can get the most out of the car. If we want to be a top team, we have to learn to manage that, Fernando is exactly what we need," he stressed.

Aston Martin joined F1 two seasons ago and is immersed in a growth process that they have estimated to carry out in five seasons, which contrasts with the signing of a 41-year-old driver, something that for Krack "is not a problem" and "it doesn't change anything" because "it has to be judged by his performance on the track and it's clear that he's still as good as ever".

The Luxembourger considers that, even, the relationship "could be extended" if they get "the competitiveness of the car to progress" as they want. "We underperformed both last year and this year and what we want is to have a car that is up front," he admitted.

The 'Team Principal' even joked about the age of the Asturian pilot. "I just turned 50 and people tell me they are the new 40, if that's true, Fernando is only 31," he said.

The Aston Martin boss also spoke about the relationship that Alonso will have with his new teammate, Lance Stroll, that people "underestimate how good he is just because his father owns the team and has put him in the car."

"You don't do as well as a four-time world champion by accident and you don't win as many junior titles by accident. It's important to remember that Lance has never had a winning car so he hasn't been able to show what he's capable of. We want to give it to him, both to him and to Fernando", he detailed.

Krack remembers that when Vettel arrived at the team, "people said that Lance would have no option" and that "they say the same thing now that Fernando is coming", but "it is possible that he will give more than one surprise". In this sense, he does not see the Canadian "afraid of competing against Fernando in the same car". "They have known each other for many years, they have raced against each other and Fernando knows the quality that Lance has, the respect is real," he said.