Krack praises Alonso for staying near points in damaged Aston Martin

After the United States Grand Prix, Mike Krack praised Fernando Alonso’s ability to keep performing with a badly damaged Aston Martin. Alonso spent much of the race just outside the top 10, with points still possible, before Aston Martin retired him late on after a long deliberation.

Alonso started 12th. On lap one at Turn 11, Alexander Albon hit the left side of the AMR26, leaving about half of the floor on that side missing. The car had lost roughly 50 points of downforce, was at times uncontrollable and struggled in left-hand corners.

Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, described Alonso’s ability to absorb this kind of damage and still perform strongly as a special talent. He said the performance was especially impressive because the team knew how severe the damage was. Krack also said he could not tell whether anger or a desire to show what he could do was behind Alonso’s effort.

Krack said drivers can sometimes produce strong performances in cars they would not normally keep racing, and speculated that feeling the damage rather than seeing it might help. Alonso appeared somewhat surprised when the team ended his race; Krack said he always finds it difficult to make that call.