After three consecutive podiums in 2023, Aston Martin is now targeting its first Formula 1 win.
“I think there are some tracks where the combination of this driver with this car may still be even more magical,” said team boss Mike Krack, referring to one of F1’s men-of-the-moment, former two-time champion Fernando Alonso.
Although the gap to Red Bull is between 7 tenths to a full second per lap, Aston Martin is arguably still a nose ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari.
And so, it’s not too much of a stretch for the green-clad team to now be thinking about the top step of the podium.
But not quite yet, according to former F1 driver Timo Glock.
“In Baku there are more corners, long straights as well where Red Bull’s DRS effect comes into play,” he told Sky Deutschland.
“I believe Red Bull will have an even bigger gap between themselves and the others in Baku. The question is who will bring the first updates and how will they turn out?”
According to Aston Martin boss Mike Krack, the first big opportunity for a sneaky win could come in late May.
“We’ll try at Monaco,” he told DAZN when asked about the potential of a race win.
“We have shortcomings on very long straights – it’s no secret,” said the German. “We’ve recognised it and we have to work on it a lot.
“But on tracks where this doesn’t count as much is where we can have more confidence. We have to be fast, finish, not make mistakes and then we’ll see what the result is.”
However, he admitted that all of the ‘big three’ teams – Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari – will be pushing to up their game as the season progresses.
“The car is good,” Krack said. “We’ve been competitive in the first three races, so I think we can confirm that.
“Now it’s a development race with the other teams and it will be difficult to keep up with the big players.
“We are not fighting with small teams – we are fighting against very big teams, very experienced teams with great infrastructures. But we will fight.”
(GMM)
