Release the Kracken
Autocar UK|June 14, 2023
Many big names have failed spectacularly in their quest to become a Formula 1 front-runner, but Aston Martin seems on the right track under Mike Krack. Edd Straw meets him
Edd Straw
Release the Kracken

The emergence of Aston Martin as a Formula 1 frontrunner with old-stager Fernando Alonso rolling back the years as its spearhead has been the big story of 2023. It's no exaggeration to say that with Red Bull steamrollering all comers, Aston Martin's sudden rise has saved the season by providing a compellingly fresh storyline.

While headline-grabbing on track and bankrolled by the powerful presence of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, the British team is led by a softly spoken, silver-haired engineer from Luxembourg named Mike Krack.

With a wealth of experience in motorsport, stretching from race engineering in Formula 3 to heading BMW's motorsport operations and now his first F1 team principalship, he's overseeing Aston Martin's ongoing expansion, relocation to a new purpose-built factory adjacent to its ageing, overpopulated facility across the road at Silverstone and managing its grandiose ambitions to emerge, as Stroll put it, as "one of the greatest Formula 1 teams there will be".

The recent deal to be Honda's works team for F1's next-generation power unit regulations from 2026 is the latest key move. But what's most impressive about Krack is that as well as managing this potentially chaotic period of transition so effectively, he's ensuring that the team doesn't rest on its laurels after an early-season run of podium finishes. It woul be easy to look towards 2026 as the moment Aston Martin breaks through, but instead the talk is of catching all-conquering Red Bull.

Part of the reason for that lies in his experience with the BMW Sauber F1 project of 2006 to 2009, which fell victim to its own corporate conservatism. The target for 2008 was to win a race, which Robert Kubica achieved early-midseason in Canada, at which point the focus switched to the planned title push in 2009 that never came. So Krack knows that if you wait for tomorrow, it often never comes.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 14, 2023-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 14, 2023-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS AUTOCAR UKAlle anzeigen
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024