Mike Krack has shared his thoughts on the last F1 race at Zandvoort, what was instrumental in their points finish, whether they are now stronger in the race than in qualifying, how well they are optimising the upgraded chassis and the new Honda engine, and the drivers’ positive feedback from the 2026 Dutch GP.
Following the introduction of the long-awaited aero update package in Budapest, Zandvoort saw the debut of Honda’s latest power unit. However, the start to their race weekend was less than ideal.
After struggling for pace in the Sprint format, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll managed to set the eighteenth- and nineteenth-fastest times, respectively, in Grand Prix qualifying.
On Sunday, both Aston Martin drivers started the race on the soft tyres. By Lap 10, Alonso had climbed to P14, with Stroll running right behind him.
The Canadian driver had picked up some damage early into the race, leading to a handling issue. He made two pit stops, both for the hard compound. The first one came at the end of Lap 15 and the second on Lap 36. Unfortunately, the 27-year-old had to retire nine laps later, as his AMR26 became practically impossible to drive.
Meanwhile, Alonso switched to hard tyres on Lap 35, following an impressively long stint on the softs. He continued to gain positions and made his way into the points, ultimately coming home in ninth place.
Krack on what was key to Aston Martin’s points finish at the 2026 Dutch GP
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Mike Krack expressed relief that Max Verstappen had walked away unscathed following his massive shunt on Lap 2. He also stated that they would miss the passionate crowd at Zandvoort, with the circuit leaving the F1 calendar after the 2026 season.
“Yeah, I think the most important [thing] is that nobody got injured in the beginning of the race. That was very scary what happened there, in terms of crash that could’ve been very bad.
“And then I think a word also on the spectators. Last time we were at Zandvoort. So, I think we had amazing experiences here with a huge enthusiasm from the crowd. That’s I think is another bit that we will miss going forward.”
As far as their race was concerned, Krack noted how inventive Aston Martin were with their strategy at the 2026 Dutch GP. He drew attention to their traffic and tyre management and claimed that their aggressive one-stop strategy with Alonso was instrumental in their 2-point haul on Sunday.
“For us, we started from the back of the grid and had to be quite creative with what we gonna do with strategy.
“The goal was always to have the cars out of traffic, to try and get free air. Some of it you can control, sometimes not.
“So, we tried to keep our options open as long as we could and then manage the tyres as good as we could. At the end of the day, we saw that we could get away with a single stop, and this was the key to finish in the points today.”
Whether the AMR26 is now stronger in the race than in qualifying
With respect to whether Aston Martin’s pace was better over a race distance than in qualifying during the 2026 Dutch GP weekend, Mike Krack responded, “Yeah, definitely.”
Reckoning that their race pace has been stronger since the previous round in Hungary, the 54-year-old, nonetheless, referred to Alonso’s concerns over their straight-line speed. Furthermore, he conceded that the AMR26’s performance in the remaining races will fluctuate depending on the track characteristics.
“Since Budapest, we know that we are a bit stronger in the race.
“I think Fernando [Alonso] said today that our result will depend more or less on how long the straights are.
“These were now two races where this race was a bit on the short side. So, we will have tougher races to come, but I think that is part of the game. You have races where you are strong, and you have races where you are less strong.
“So, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes.”
Optimisation of the upgraded chassis and the new power unit
Asked to comment on how much progress they have made on the chassis side so far, Mike Krack stated post-Dutch GP media session that Aston Martin are still trying to gain an in-depth understanding of the Budapest package.
Maintaining that the same philosophy applies to the ‘Spec 2’ power unit they installed at Zandvoort, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer remarked that they would need a few more rounds to further optimise the new Honda engine. However, he also offered an assurance that they are moving in the right direction.
“Yeah, I mean, we get to know this package more and more. I think we 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. I think that it’s going to take us a couple of events, but it was a good step forward.”
Krack reflects on the drivers’ positive comments at the 2026 Dutch GP
With regard to the positive driver feedback from the 2026 Dutch GP and whether it bodes well for their future, Mike Krack asserted that the Sprint weekend made it more challenging to unlock the full potential of the upgrades.
Reiterating that they don’t expect the AMR26’s performance to be consistently strong in every session, the Luxembourgish engineer, nevertheless, surmised that the Silverstone-based squad had managed to come up with a decent configuration at Zandvoort.
“Yeah, I mean, it goes along with what I said in terms of trying to understand the package. If you have changes at this large scale with the intensity of the sessions, it’s always difficult to get the maximum out of it all the time. And the more sessions we get, the more we will get it under control.
“But there will be always, you know, the sessions where you will have a bit more difficulties, some others where it will be easier. And I think we had quite a good configuration this weekend.”
