Aston Martin shocked people during pre-season testing with Fernando Alonso grabbing the second fastest lap on the first day. While that was just one result, keep in mind that the team had consistent pace and a good long-run performance despite being only the seventh fastest car based on aggregated headline times over the test. However, Aston Martin are remaining cautious. 

Team principal, Mike Krack, was keen to downplay the results, “To be honest, I think it’s very, very difficult on such a test to make a proper judgement. I’ll give you an example. Last year, we were P4, P4 and P10 over the three days, and we seem very similar now. And in the race we were out in Q1. So just to tell you how much a test like that can give you an indication of where you are.” 

This is a fair enough assessment and a reason to be cautious. Which is why Krack believes the team “must not lose our goals.” 

“Our goal was to make a step forward in the performance of the car, in the team,” Krack added. “And this still remains our objective. If we manage it or not, we will see next week.” 

Krack did admit that he was happy with the long-run performance, but suggested that favourable track conditions had helped them out. 

“The race simulation was certainly not bad,” Krack explained. “But we must also not forget that the track conditions were really good. You had a lot of rubebr because there were other teams using new tyres a lot of times, also with soft rubber. And this is helping when you do a race simulation.

“So again, it is nice to have good long runs, but still you need to be really put them into the right context and let’s not start dreaming. I think Fernando said it earlier, there are no miracles in F1.” 

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