Aston Martin pinpoint 'main problem' with Newey arrival

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack has highlighted the heaviest burden on Adrian Newey ahead of his arrival at the team.

The Silverstone squad's former team principal, who moved into his new role during a recent reshuffle, believes the weight of expectation is the single biggest issue facing the trailblazing aerodynamicist and designer.

Having won 12 F1 constructors' championships - along with 14 drivers' titles - for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, Newey's impending arrival at Aston Martin is highly anticipated.

It is both a blessing and a curse for the Briton, who is expected to turn his new team not only into a perennial grand prix winner, but also a championship-level operation, given his unparalleled success.

To Krack, however, the team must also prepare for the 66-year-old joining on March 3, in order to best utilise his unique and unrivalled abilities.

"That is the main problem for Adrian [Newey], isn't it," he tells RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.

"That where he is [at any given time] is successful, and nobody expects anything less from his arrival at Aston Martin.

"Now, we know also that Formula 1 these days cannot be run by one man, so we have to set ourselves up so that we can get the maximum from his knowledge, from his experience, from his intuition, and facilitate that."

Making best use of Newey's 'capabilities'

Aston Martin has struggled to take sustained steps forward in its development over the current regulations cycle.

Although a significant improvement from the team's difficulties at the start of the 2022 F1 season, the strong start it made the following campaign has proven to be somewhat of a false dawn.

Fernando Alonso collected six podium finishes in the opening eight rounds that year before progress slowed.

The Silverstone-based outfit ultimately limped home fifth in the constructors' standings - a position it replicated last term with notably less success.

Aston Martin has become synonymous with how difficult the contemporary ground effects era in F1 has been to grasp.

Like many teams, it has often-times been unable to adequately understand the delicate balance between ground effects and more traditional aerodynamics - and how to best develop its car.

Therefore, the team must resist the urge to over-use Newey's expertise in favour of him adopting a more sensible, over-arching role.

"He has the possibility to unearth where he's best at [within the team]," Krack adds. "If we expect him to go into the detail of every little bolt, we have not made best use of his capabilities.

"So I think for us, at the moment, in the lead-up to his arrival, these are the questions that we have to ask ourselves.

"How do we set ourselves up to get the maximum out of the experience, the creativity and excellence [Newey brings]?"