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Aston Martin Formula 1 boss Mike Krack reckons the emotional value of seeing its cars finally run at the front of a grand prix again should not be underestimated.
Lance Stroll was third in the early stages of the United States Grand Prix while Sebastian Vettel led two laps late on as he was the last of the lead group to make his final pitstops.
While these high points were down to favourable circumstances, the Austin race was also the peak of a strong run of form for a team that started the year with arguably the slowest car but has surged from ninth to the brink of sixth in the championship in the past few races.
Asked by The Race about the value of seeing the Aston Martins in high positions in Austin, Krack said: “It’s very positive. And we must not underestimate the dynamic that results from something like that, when you have your cars running high up.
“I have received five or six pictures from the factory, for the two laps where we were running first.
“So, it is something that people emotionally take on. And the dynamic that comes from that is very, very important.
“Even if this was related now to pitstops, and all that, it means we are now at the other side of the field, sometimes at least.
“I’m quite positive that this will develop into continuous positive energy.”
After three races this season, Aston Martin was the only team that had not scored a point.
It also had a problematic car that was porpoising, slow, and giving the drivers poor feedback.
An aggressive upgrade policy has allowed the team to make great strides over the year, though, and a particularly strong swing in form of late has helped Aston Martin score 26 points in the last three races.
This has vaulted it ahead of Haas and AlphaTauri in the championship and now Aston Martin is just one point behind Alfa Romeo, having trailed the Sauber-run team by 35 points 10 races ago.
“It’s not about pride, it’s about hard work, analysing your weaknesses,” said Krack.
“The team was not lazy before, it’s just when you start like that, there is only one way to work yourself out: analysing your weaknesses and trying step by step to eliminate them.
“Now, if you would have told me that we were [so close] behind Alfa fighting for sixth with three races to go I would probably not have believed you, especially when you remember the pieces that were lying around in Melbourne.
“But it shows you also that you should not give up. And we never did. And this is the positive.
“In the worst moments, we stuck together. And we really have to try and get sixth this season.”
Aston Martin would have jumped Alfa Romeo in the points table at the US Grand Prix had a botched pitstop not cost Vettel a sixth-place finish, or if Stroll had not had a needless crash with Fernando Alonso, which has earned Stroll a three-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Mexican Grand.
Krack said he preferred to focus on the “many, many positives” of the weekend, which was Aston Martin’s most competitive of the year.
“It’s very positive in the team,” said Krack of Aston Martin’s recent form.
“At home in Mission Control, here on track, everybody’s really focused.
“One of the good things is when it was tricky, and we could have got the Alfas – we say, ‘OK, we’ll do it next time’.
“There is a lot of positive spirit, a lot of positive energy in the factory and here. So, it’s very encouraging.”
