Krack warns Monza and Baku will expose Aston Martin's straight-line weakness after Zandvoort reprieve

Fernando Alonso salvaged ninth place at the Dutch Grand Prix from 18th on the grid, but Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack has been candid that Zandvoort’s layout did the team a significant favour — and that harder races are coming.

Alonso’s result on Sunday relied on an opportunistic one-stop strategy while most rivals pitted twice, allowing the AMR26 to exploit its corner speed at a circuit where straight-line velocity matters less than almost anywhere else on the calendar. Aston Martin recorded a best qualifying trap speed of just 309.5 km/h at Zandvoort — second-slowest in the field and well short of Alpine’s 331.7 km/h — yet the car’s mechanical grip through the twisty Dutch layout was enough to manufacture a points finish.

“Since Budapest we know that we’re a bit stronger in the race,” Krack said. “I think Fernando said today our result will depend more or less on how long the straights are. So these were now two races where the straights were a bit on the short side. So we will have tougher races to come, but I think that this is part of the game. You have races where you’re strong, and you have races where you’re less strong.”

The next power-circuit tests arrive quickly. Monza — the Temple of Speed — and Baku’s long seafront straight rank among the most demanding venues on the calendar for any car with a top-speed deficit, and Krack did not shy away from the challenge they represent.

Aston Martin introduced a major chassis upgrade in Budapest and added a long-awaited Honda power unit upgrade at Zandvoort, yet the team acknowledges it has not yet unlocked the full potential of either change. The Honda upgrade was intended to substantially lift performance after the AMR26 suffered serious power-related difficulties earlier in the season, but the straightline figures at Zandvoort suggest there is still work to do.

“We get to know this package more and more,” Krack said. “With the large package that we introduced in Budapest, it will take some sessions to learn how to deal with it and to learn how to set it up. And the same goes actually also for the introduction of the power unit now. We need to learn how to use it, we need to learn how to optimise it, and I think it’s going to take us a couple of events, but it was a good step forward.”

Lance Stroll also offered positive feedback on the updated car over team radio during the race, a signal that both drivers are beginning to feel the benefit of the upgrades even if the timing of their arrival — with Monza and Baku looming — means the team’s progress will face an immediate and unforgiving examination.