Mike Krack, Aston Martin F1: “Alonso had a damaged car at Madring and was very far away, but he decided to finish the race for the fans. It’s something I want to thank him for”

The press conference was already over. Mike Krack, Aston Martin track managerwhen suddenly, the Luxembourger wanted to send a clear message to everyone: “I think we also have to recognize Fernando’s effort. With the car damaged and being so far away, he decided to finish the race for the fans. It’s something I want to thank him for”.

In Madringthe man from Oviedo suffered damage to his car after the touch he received from Carlos Sainz at the beginning of Grand Prizewhich ultimately caused him to have to lose more time when changing his front wing during his pit stop.

The Luxembourger recognized that, being in such a distant position, without the possibility of fighting to improve his 17th position on a circuit where it was impossible to overtake, and taking into account that they could no longer carry out a different strategy, as happened in Zandvoortto try to come back, the Spaniard was able to abandon due to the damage to the car, but he did not want to do so out of respect for the thousands of Spanish fans who had come to the stands to cheer him on in the It could be his last race in Spain in the F1, in the absence of knowing their future decision for 2027.

Regarding the performance of the car, Mike Krack He believes that without that damage, they could have shown more potential.

“I think on Thursday we talked about what we expected. We said that we would be a little more competitive than in Monza. And I think we were. But they also asked me about Q3 and I said that we had to be realistic. And I think that was the correct assumption, because we saw that, in terms of results, we were more or less at the level of Zandvoort, maybe not too far from there in qualifying,” he highlighted.

“We didn’t have an ideal qualification either, 100 percent, but overall I think we finished more or less where we thought we would be. Of course, we had higher expectations for the race. But we suffered damage quite early and, therefore, I think we did not get to see the full potential of the car in the race,” he commented.

“I think we were faster than the cars around us in the race. We were pretty confident that we could win that battle, so to speak. But the damage prevented us from doing so,” Mike Krack concluded.

Alonso, a special day

Despite not being able to aspire to a great result due to the performance of his car, especially because of what he lost on the straights due to the lack of power of the Honda engine, Fernando Alonso wanted to enjoy his people in case this was the last race he competed at home. For this reason, he slowed down a lot, much more than normal, to go around back to the box after the race, greeting the fans at each corner. And for that reason, he also wanted to address them in Spanish when he came down to the asphalt of the ‘Monumental’ on the drivers’ parade lap.

And after the race, he thanked them again for that support and made it clear that, if he continues in F1, it will be partly because of them.

“Like in Barcelona this year. They know that the result is going to be what it is, and yet they have come with all the enthusiasm to enjoy the Grand Prix. I always feel bad about not giving them what they deserve, a better result. But hey, if I continue one more year, or two years or three, or whoever decides, if I do it, it would also be for them. Because I think that saying goodbye to the Spanish fans after a lifetime behind the wheel with a result this year is not deserved by anyone on the team, but especially the fans.”he pointed out at the end of the Spanish GP in Madring.