Krack denies claims Aston Martin is 'lost'

Aston Martin is not "lost" after recent decisions to start Grands Prix from the Formula 1 pit-lane, according to boss Mike Krack.

In an attempt to hold off McLaren's surge for fourth in the Constructors' amid a slump in performance, Aston Martin brought an upgrade package to the United States.

However, practice time was limited owing to the Sprint weekend, with the team electing to start both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from the pit-lane, and on different specifications, with Alonso reverting to the pre-Austin package.

Last time out in Mexico, the team endured a tricky weekend with a double DNF with Stroll once again starting from the pit-lane after set-up changes were made to the AMR23 in parc ferme.

Krack denied this was a sign of the team being lost with the set-up.

Krack denies Aston Martin claims

"I get this impression, and I was expecting the question also," Krack told media including RacingNews365.

"But I think when you are lost, you are rolling the dice, you try things that are not reasonable and this is not the case.

"We have very focused engineering discussions, weighing options against each other and while we don't want to go racing from the pit-lane, it is very important that we understand the findings that we have in the team and then take pragmatic decisions.

"It is not easy, but it is the right way to move forward.

"The cars are complex and you try to improve them all the time, and then when you bring upgrades - we know the issues we had in Austin - I don't think we then have to go through them again.

"In the Austin race, we were quite happy with how it went, but then you come to Mexico, and you are not where you think you should be and the car does not do what you expect it to.

"It is something we need to work out because there are other tracks with low speed [corners] and different characteristics, so it is important to understand what you are doing.

"The best solution to understand is to revert to something, comparing to something that you know, and that from an engineering point of view, is the best approach."