Krack: 'Lights never went off' at factory during Aston F1 slump

Thanks to Fernando Alonso, the Silverstone-based squad earned a podium finish in six of the opening eight grands prix this season to emerge as the most regular threat to Red Bull.

However, aside from a second place in the Netherlands, the results tailed off from the Austrian GP as Aston Martin slipped to the fringes of the top 10 and ultimately failed to score points in Singapore and Mexico.

This dip continued throughout the period when the team was bringing upgrades, which had been designed and manufactured based on the progress made towards its 2024 challenger.

But Aston returned to the podium in the Brazilian GP earlier this month, with Alonso pipping Red Bull's Sergio Perez by just 0.053 seconds across the line to secure third place.

The team were particularly emotional in their celebrations. Krack said this "shows what a strong team we are".

He continued: "We have kept together in difficult times. After Zandvoort, we had a couple of races that were not strong. We had the triple-header [Austin, Mexico, Brazil], which is brutal in terms of workload, in terms of being away, time zones, heat, a lot of work with not so many results.

"Then to come back like we did, I think it's a great credit to everybody involved in our team, teamwork, track teamwork, with the factory, or campus. We have all the people."

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, spray Champagne on the podium

Krack added that the factory had worked round the clock to rediscover its form during its fallow period. He continued: "The lights didn't go off, this you can believe me, in all that time.

"It shows that if you're a strong team, and if you trust each other and believe in each other, that you can do amazing things or manage amazing turnarounds.

"[The previous round in Mexico], we were on the other side of the grid. You see how sometimes things can go. But after Mexico, the reaction that we have shown as a team shows that we are really gearing up."

Krack acknowledged that the team had 'sacrificed' results by working to learn more about the 2024 car with its development path. It is thought that some of these updated parts were then removed to optimise set-up for Brazil.

He added: "You have to do a lot of homework. You know what kind of track Brazil is. You know what package you want to bring; you know the tyre situation; you know how the surface is. All these kinds of things.

"But then also for us, it was really important, 'How do we go there? How do we approach it? And then how do we execute it?'

"It showed that if you execute everything the way it has to be and is planned and also you follow your plan, you can achieve really good results."