Team Principal Gather at Start to US Grand Prix

Formula One team principals  Mike Krack (Aston Martin), Zak Brown (McLaren), Toto Wolff (Mercedes), and Guenther Steiner (Haas) met with reports on Friday at the start of the United States Grand Prix to share their thoughts.  Here the highlights. 

Mike Krack shared that both Aston Martin experience overheating issue on the front left for both cars. “We inspected the cars, unfortunately one car couldn’t go out anymore because the repair would take too long, and the other car, we managed to go out again – so unfortunate and not an ideal start for a Sprint weekend, obviously.” 

Krack said the problem was unrelated to the upgrades to the cars, that were complete prior to this race.  Krack said some feedback from Fernando Alonso, who salvage part of Free Practice 1. 

“He (Alonso) was mainly saying that the track is even bumpier than he recalled it being before. But all in all, from Fernando, it was a solid session. Obviously, we had the interruption at the beginning for checking everything. So, lost a couple of laps. We decided also not to go out with the soft tyres at the end of the day. But from that side of the car, he was just you know, lucky, I would say, that the same issue did not prevent him from running.” 

Zak Brown began his remarks commenting on Lando Norris, who is celebrating his 100th races, all of them with McLaren. 

“He obviously is much more experienced, five seasons in.  I would say, if we look at what he was like as a rookie versus now, he makes very few mistakes – not that he made a lot of mistakes as a rookie, but more. Rarely misses a sector when he needs to put it together. And I would say his race craft is extremely strong. So, his pace has always been there. His pace remains fantastic, and he’s definitely one of the fastest drivers in Formula 1. And you just look at how few incidents he’s had in the five years. I’d say his race craft is also as good as anyone’s in Formula 1. So, we’re giving him a car that’s able to get on the podium now on a more regular basis. And we still need to keep developing, because this sport never sits still.” 

Toto Wolff rejoins his team after missing the Japan and Qatar races for knee surgery.  He commented on some of the emotional issues arising from the team’s disappointing performance. 

“Well, there were some, let’s say, unpleasant situations that we have talked about. Lots of points that we left on the table, but there is nobody more aware than the drivers. And sometimes you need these moments to recalibrate and recondition and avoid similar situations in the future. But they’re racing drivers: they compete hard. Your first competitor is your teammate, and therefore, I see it with a relatively relaxed stance. And I’m back.” 

Wolff also commented on changes to the Mercedes car floor made prior to the Austin race. 

“The (FP1) lap time was competitive that Lewis was able to post – but not like that the car is suddenly super-fast. There are certain areas he feels more comfortable. And George, on the other side, wasn’t satisfied with how the car was going for him.” 

The Haas car also underwent some modification.  Guenther Steiner shared his observations: 

“All in all, the good I take out of it, the guys that did all work – because we started very late – everything was well-delivered and it shows that it can be done. Hopefully we can get something out of it – but a lot of it, what we are doing now, is for next year. But if we can get something out this year, it’s welcome because we had quite a tough time, the last months. So, let’s see. Too early to say where it is going.”