After what could potentially have been a finish inside the top 10, Fernando Alonso was forced to retire on Lap 25 of the F1 Italian GP. Before the retirement, the Aston Martin looked quick and although there were plenty laps to go, it looked like the chance for points was high.
Mike Krack, the Chief Trackside Officer at Aston Martin, spoke about Alonso’s premature end of the race in a print media session after Sunday’s race at the F1 Italian GP. Krack stated he did not know the cause of the suspension failure, expressing:
“Not yet, we have to analyse. The parts are being taken off and they will go with us in the plane tonight and we will everything analyse tomorrow.”
Unknown cause of suspension failure
Before the retirement, the Spaniard was seen going high over the exit kerb out of Ascari. While this looked to be a potential cause of the failure, Mike Krack explained they did not see anything unusual in the data. The CTO continued on to be asked if there were any incidents pointing to the cause of the failure. Krack responded:
“No, we didn’t see anything. It would have been easy to say he went wide or anything, but we didn’t see anything unusual. That is why I think it’s important to do this kind of analysis properly. It’s easy to point the driver, it’s easy to point to any kind of incident. You need to stay factual in such situations.
“What we had to do is tell Lance [Stroll] to be careful in that area and that is all you can do in such a situation. Make sure the sister car goes a little bit careful, even if it’s not related. But that is something that you do have to do and then you have to do the analysis properly.”
While Aston Martin seemed to be quick this weekend, the race turned sour for the team. The team ended up being left with zero points. As Alonso suffered the suspension failure, the chance for points was gone. Meanwhile, his teammate, Lance Stroll, had an incident with Esteban Ocon early on where the Frenchman forced him off track. After the incident, the Canadian’s race did not improve and he ended the Italian GP in P17.
No risk when it comes to safety
Lastly, Krack was asked if it was easier in Formula 1 without the cost cap, and perhaps the F1 Italian GP suspension failure could come from old material. However, the CTO quickly dismissed this idea, explaining:
“Yeah but you know, every team’s safety comes first and no team is gambling on any of that. So no team will use old suspension parts because you only hurt yourself. You have no points. The teams are so professional these days in their laps and all that so that you do not take any risk. There are safety factors so I am quite relaxed about it.”
