Krak: It’s great that we have Alonso’s level driver

20 years ago Fernando Alonso took his debut victory in Formula 1 at the Hungaroring and started from pole. The two-time world champion has been playing for Aston Martin since this season and he is performing very well. Team boss Mike Krak believes in his driver, although the chance of a repeat of that success this weekend should not be overestimated.

Mike Krak: “Fernando is in the spotlight this weekend as he celebrates 20 years since his first win in 2003 here at the Hungaroring. I am often asked how much he has changed since then, and my answer is simple: I don’t know because I haven’t worked with him in the last 19 years!

I don’t know if it is possible to say that Fernando is now at the peak of his form, but personally I am very happy that we invited him. It is great that the team has a rider of his level. It’s not just about his results on track – he helps get the whole team in the right mood. He has the mentality of a champion and we would like to see this spread to our entire team.

We apologize to the fans for not living up to their expectations at the British Grand Prix. Behind two races where we performed worse than they should have. Now it is very important to add, because half of the season is behind us, and we are happy to remember that we climbed the podium six times and Fernando earned points in every race. This is not a bad performance, but our expectations are changing and we want more.

So far it has been Fernando who has received the lion’s share of points for Aston Martin, but this does not at all reflect Lance Stroll’s real mood and desire for high results. He also gives everything he can and does everything in his power at every Grand Prix, but he often had bad luck.

It is logical to assume that after an incredibly successful start to the season, we have now somewhat conceded, but everything is not so simple. Our job is to make sure the AMR23 remains competitive, but at the same time we can’t forget about next year’s car.

Recently, our opponents have managed to improve, and we also need to take the next step forward. At the same time, we must remain realistic: we must understand the challenges we face and what we can achieve with the possibilities at our disposal.

The Hungaroring is sometimes called “Monaco without walls”, but we have to be careful with our predictions: it is unlikely that our results this weekend will be the same as on the classic city ring. Sure, the Hungarian circuit is better suited to the AMR23 than Silverstone, but a lot has changed since the Monaco race in May.

Still, I think we can remain cautiously optimistic, but more precisely because this Hungaroring suits us than really estimating our sheer speed.