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Aston Martin F1 team principal Mike Krack doesn't foresee a major shuffle in the pecking order heading into the 2024 season.
The German led the Silverstone-based team, the second-fastest side in the early stages of 2023, to P5 in the Constructor's Championship. He claimed that teams would try to follow Red Bull as it remains the dominant and standout car.
Speaking with Motorsport.com, Krack said he didn't expect a change in the pecking order with stable regulations. He sees the teams focusing on evolution rather than developing a new car. He said:
"When you when you have stable rules, the way we have it now, teams will rather go evolutionary. And if you have such a standout car, as we have with Red Bull, I think a lot of people will try to go in that direction.
"On the other hand, we have heard from Ferrari, from Mercedes, that they will make very big architectural changes. So, we are curious to see what that is going to bring. But I think all in all, if you look at it, usually what happens if the technical regs stay [the same] the field is moving closer together year on year."
Aston Martin has no room for 'excuses' for the 2023 mid-season slump
Mike Krack stated that he will not make 'excuses' for the mid-season slump in performance in Aston Martin's 2023 campaign.
He claimed that the team was aware that it would encounter 'difficult moments' but did not envision them coming up so quickly. Krack said:
"At the beginning of the year, when we had these good results, I always had my finger up and said: 'We will have more difficult times'. And they came, unfortunately, much quicker than we wanted them.
"I'm not the kind of guy that looks for excuses. We knew before that we would move. We knew before that we were expanding. We knew before that we were still growing. So if you know that before, you can plan all these things, and you should not use it as an excuse – it's too easy."
It will be fascinating to see if Aston Martin can rediscover their early 2023 form in the 2024 season as well and if sustain momentum throughout the year to challenge for higher positions.
