Aston Martin insists Fernando Alonso’s Japanese GP radio rant isn’t a sign of frustration over team’s poor performance

Aston Martin is currently fourth in the 2023 constructors world championship.

Aston Martin insists Fernando Alonso’s Japanese GP radio rant isn’t a sign of frustration over team’s poor performance

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Via IMAGO)

The Aston Martin Formula 1 team hit the ground running during the initial phase of the 2023 F1 season. But as the campaign has progressed, the outfit has slipped backward on the grid, and their Japanese GP outing was a prime example. Fernando Alonso could only manage a P8 finish after the team made a wrong pit call, and the car was also not competitive compared to its rivals.

Fernando Alonso was seen fuming during the race over the team radio and said, ‘You’ve thrown me to the lions by stopping that early.’ While much has already been said about the downfall of the Silverstone-based team, Mike Krack has claimed that Alonso’s rant was not a sign of any frustrations creeping into Aston Martin’s ranks.

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While shedding light on the same, Krack told Motorsport, “I think you can listen to the 20 drivers, and everybody’s really hard. Everybody’s passionate. If the driver would not be doing something like that, what driver is it? So, I think, it’s fine. For us, we take it as a motivation and it also opens up always a different view of things. So, absolutely fine.”

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The Aston Martin boss has made it known that things are absolutely fine on his team and views Alonso’s Japanese Grand Prix rant as a normal Formula 1 driver reaction. Mike Krack ardently believes that all the drivers are fiercely competitive, and the former 2-time world champion is also the same, thus, things can get heated during a Grand Prix weekend.

Discover: Mercedes’ Head of Strategy claims George Russell’s tire strategy at Suzuka was a desperate act as they were ‘already behind everyone’

Fernando Alonso and Co. have fallen behind its rivals in the 2023 car development race

While Mike Krack does not see Fernando Alonso’s Suzuka rant as a major issue, his team has not been able to match the development pace of teams like Ferrari and the woking-based McLaren F1 team. The two outfits have performed really well in the last few races on the back of potent upgrades and Krack has acknowledged this fact.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Credits: F1)
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Credits: F1)

He said, “It’s development. You see some competitors have really made big progress, some less, and it seems quite simple. We have not done enough.” As things stand, Aston Martin is currently fourth in the 2023 Constructors Championship with 221 points to its name but is in real danger of slipping to fifth in the upcoming Grand Prix events.

McLaren has been on an upward trajectory and is only 49 points behind Fernando Alonso and Co. Considering this, the remaining six races of the 2023 F1 season hold immense significance for the green-colored team. Fourth place brings way more financial rewards in comparison to fifth, and the onus is going to be on the team to provide its drivers with the best possible machinery.

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