“We need to be humble”: Aston Martin boss urges pragmatic approach ahead of major rule change season

Mike Krack believes Aston Martin must adopt a pragmatic approach for the 2025 season. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, in Abu Dhabi, the Silverstone team principal emphasized the importance of closing the performance gap to the front runners while managing expectations realistically.

Although most F1 teams will divide their focus between the 2025 championship and preparations for the 2026 regulation changes, Aston Martin faces added pressure after two seasons of falling short of their rivals. In 2023, the team competed with Red Bull and Mercedes for much of the season, with Fernando Alonso securing eight podium finishes. However, in 2024, Aston Martin struggled to progress and remained comfortably in fifth place for most of the year.

With key technical hires, including Enrico Cardile, Adrian Newey and Andy Cowell, the team is undergoing significant restructuring. While 2026 is seen as the year when these changes will likely yield results, Krack acknowledges that 2025 will also be critical to their trajectory.

Krack clarified that Aston Martin cannot afford to write off the 2025 season. Reflecting on the technical setbacks that plagued the team in 2024, he highlighted the need to remain humble about expectations. He acknowledged that cars across the grid are now highly developed, with teams operating at a mature level of performance. Aston Martin, he acknowledged, still has work to do to unlock their car’s potential fully and close the gap to the competition.

Asked by Sportskeeda how Aston Martin plans to manage their expectations for the 2025 season or whether they might write it off to focus on 2026, Krack responded:

“No, we cannot afford to let ’25 slip. But I think we have now delivered two years in a row, not the performance we wanted. So I think about ’25, we need to be humble. We need to take a humble approach, try to solve one step after the next, issue that we were having this year. Because the cars are quite mature now, there is quite some big differences between the cars, but everybody has reached a level of maturity. That I think we don't have, and I think this is something that we really have to catch up on.”

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Mike Krack reckons Aston Martin will have to balance resources between 2025 and 2026

Mike Krack believes it is challenging to predict how Aston Martin will balance their resources between the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The Silverstone team principal emphasized that their primary focus will be on the 2025 campaign. However, he acknowledged that as the season unfolds, the team will better understand when and how to shift their attention toward 2026.

With the arrival of Honda engines and entirely new chassis regulations in 2026, Aston Martin will need to develop a brand-new car concept for the new era of Formula 1. Despite this, Krack stressed that the team’s priority for 2025 will be competing for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships.

He also suggested that their performance in the 2025 season will influence resource allocation. If the team performs well and is competitive in the standings, they may continue focusing on 2025. However, a weaker position in the Constructors’ Championship could lead to an earlier shift of resources toward the 2026 project.

Asked how hard it will be balancing the resources between the ’25 and ’26 season, Krack said:

“Yes, I think you will see everybody has to start on the same basis and I think depending on where you are, what are the gaps, people will make their choices. But there is not more points in 2026 than in 2025. So there is also a constructors championship to be won and a driver's championship. So I think everybody will be full steam for ’25 at the moment. Because there is also some restrictions.

"But then quickly, I think depending on how the pecking order will be, and also how the gaps will be, you may have to make a choice. ‘Can I close this gap or will others close that gap and I afford you know just to go racing over what I'm having’ and focus on 26’. So I think I cannot answer the question now. We have to really be objective and see you know month on month where we are.”

In 2024, Aston Martin finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with 94 points, just 29 points ahead of Alpine in sixth but a significant 374 points behind Mercedes, who secured fourth. This marked a notable shift from 2023 when the Silverstone-based team finished just 22 points behind McLaren in fourth and 126 points behind Ferrari in third. Despite finishing fifth in both seasons, Aston Martin was much closer to the front runners in 2023, while in 2024, they found themselves nearer to the midfield.

With several key changes within the team’s technical department and infrastructure, Aston Martin enters an exciting new phase for 2025. The arrival of former Red Bull aerodynamic chief Adrian Newey in March is expected to provide the team with a stronger trajectory, potentially yielding better results in 2025 and even more promising prospects for 2026, when the entire F1 pecking order resets with new regulations.