Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack has revealed that Fernando Alonso made a key Dutch Grand Prix call which enabled them to take second place. Towards the end of the race heavy rain was forecasted, which hit the track with 11 laps to go and forced everyone to switch from slicks to Intermediates. As the conditions worsened and some drivers started to aquaplane off the track, many elected to switch to the full wet tyre including race leader Max Verstappen. After Sergio Perez aquaplaned off at Turn 1 in the tricky conditions, Alonso was running second but elected not to switch to the full wet. When asked if it was Alonso's decision to stay out on Intermediates, Krack told Sky Sports : "Yeah, absolutely. We knew that this could happen in such situations and it's about survival mode, if we can call it like that. "I think his [Alonso] experience at Le Mans and his experience in other categories in such a situation is really paying [off], because you have multiple classes in Le Mans in different conditions where you just have to stay out because the pitstops are so long. "So I think this experience, but also you have to have the skills to do it. It's also not so easy to stay on track in such conditions."
Krack: Team effort leads to results
Alonso is known for being savvy over team radio when it comes to making a decision in tricky situations. During the Belgian GP, he told the team to check the onboards of cars ahead of him to warn him of the conditions when light rain hit the track midway through the race. Similarly during the Monaco GP, he was in constant discussion with the team over whether to pit to undercut Verstappen for the lead in similar conditions. Krack believes this information is critical from the driver, but does not put the decision-making process in the hands of Alonso. "Fernando is all the time asking, asking, asking, but then also when it comes to the moment it is executing the way it has to be done," he explained. "So it's a great team effort, honestly. We couldn't be more happy today, a little bit more we could be, but we should take it how it is."
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