Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack expects the team to be in a stronger position in Malaysia after a difficult weekend at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, with the Sepang circuit presenting a very different challenge to the AMR26.
Following the Azerbaijan GP, Krack explained during the print media session that Aston Martin now needs to take the lessons from Baku and apply them to Malaysia. Both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso did not finish the Azerbaijan GP, with Stroll facing four race retirements in a row, and Alonso retiring from a suspected engine issue on Lap 20.
“Now we have, obviously, this was only the first race of the triple-header. We go now to Malaysia, completely different circuit in terms of requirements on downforce, on power, on drag, on weight, on centre of gravity. All these things that are important for the global car handling.
“And it will be very hot. So I think it will test the cooling of everyone. Same for Singapore. But also I think it will be very physical for the drivers. And we have never been there for 10 years almost. I don’t know exactly, but we have not been there for very long.
“So I think it’s a new learning. It’s a bit like Madrid. We need to learn again the circuit. But it should be better for us. Now there is also straights there. But there is also high downforce corners, low speed corners.
“So I think, I expect us to be more competitive than we were here. And then Singapore probably another step better. Where this will put us, we don’t know. But this was tough. We knew that it was going to be a tough weekend. I think these are on the list with Monza and Las Vegas.
“So we knew that this was going to be hard. But we need to take the learning from it now. And try to apply what we have learned to Malaysia.”
First time to run in the wet?
The Malaysian GP will also potentially provide Aston Martin with its first opportunity to run the AMR26 in wet conditions this season, with Sepang’s climate often bringing rain during a race weekend.
“I think it could be the first time we run in the wet. Because you often have rain there. We have not run in the rain yet this year in any session.
“So I think there is plenty of things to look ahead and to look forward to. But all in all I suspect that we will be in a better place.”
Comparing performance to their rivals
Krack was also asked whether Aston Martin had been able to properly assess the new parts brought to the 2026 Azerbaijan GP and whether the team had confidence that they were providing additional performance over the previous components.
“Yeah, I think so. At the end of the day the track is just validating. Your tests that you do at home on the rigs and in the simulation.
“All of this is working. We need to always discern. Sometimes you think you are less competitive or more competitive.
“And you often relate it directly to new parts or old parts. But you must not forget that the one you compare to is also changing. So other people are changing their cars.
“So you compare to them and you do not really always know. Have they improved or are we going slower? And doing that exercise takes quite a lot of time. It is done at the factory, not on the racetrack obviously. So you need to always carefully analyse. Give me an example.
“Take Williams. If you compare always to them. You think we have gone so much slower now.Maybe we are the same and they have improved. So you need to always find. Have they improved? Have we improved? Have both improved? So this kind of analysis and study is taking quite a lot of time.
“And you need to do it carefully. But I think the parts that we have brought are certainly better.”
No more large package upgrades for Aston Martin
With Aston Martin not planning another major upgrade package for the AMR26, Krack confirmed that the team will instead focus on smaller developments where opportunities are identified through its wind tunnel work.
“Yes, I think Enrico [Cardile] made it quite clear that we will not bring a big upgrade package anymore. But if there are insights in the wind tunnel, we know that we can do small steps. I think we have done some small changes on the floor or on the barge port. I think we will continue to do these things. But I don’t think that we will have a big package anymore.”
