Aston Martin reveal upgrade plan after "extraordinary problems"

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack has refused to speculate on when aerodynamic upgrades might finally be fitted to the underperforming AMR26.

After the unscheduled five-week break between Japan and Miami allowed Formula 1 teams the chance to bring forward swathes of updates, Aston Martin was the only team to register no performance upgrades on the official FIA documentation.

While tweaks were made to improve the drivability and reduce the debilitating vibrations from the Honda power unit, outright performance remains on the back burner, with gains from other areas a clear focus.

“The way we have made steps on the reliability and on the reduction of the vibrations, and the improvement of the drivability, we have already seen quite substantial upgrades so far, and we have to continue along that line,” said Krack.

Referencing aerodynamic upgrades, he added: “I will not get drawn into whether it will be next race, the race after, or another race upcoming, but I think we have shown that we had a lot of problems when the season started - extraordinary problems.

“But we also have to acknowledge that there is a big gap to close. This will not happen overnight.”

Fernando Alonso suggested in Miami that he does not expect to see many aerodynamic upgrades before the summer.

Questioned about the worth of delaying these additions, Krack said: “You have to acknowledge what is the strategy and what is the plan. Our job at the track here is to get the maximum from what you have. I think we can safely say that we are not optimal on everything.

“We did well, but I think we could have done better. And the same applies to energy and to drivability.

“We have a lot to extract from this package the way that it is at the moment, and it is important that we keep everybody motivated to work on that, and then wait for the next steps to come.”

Aston Martin and Cadillac remain locked on zero points for the season. However, with Valtteri Bottas finishing in 13th place in China, and Aston Martin having a season-best result of 15th place – scored by Alonso in Miami – it is the British marque that sits at the foot of the Constructors’ table.