Aston Martin endured a difficult race in Austria, as Lance Stroll retired with reliability issues while Fernando Alonso trailed the field home. But Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack believes there is \u201clight at the end of the tunnel\u201d for the team as they look forward to their first real upgrades.<\/p>\n
The team were one of just two, Williams<\/a> being the other, not to run any upgrades in Austria \u2013 with Aston Martin<\/a> yet to introduce any large package of parts to their 2026 car.<\/p>\n That was partly due to a focus on reliability in the early part of the season, as the team worked closely with Honda to address some fundamental issues with the power unit.<\/p>\n But as the weeks have progressed and both Alonso<\/a> and Stroll<\/a> have been able to complete more laps, it has been easier to settle on a direction for their upgrade package.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are 80% or 90% or, you know, we’re not so far away,\u201d explained Krack. \u201cLet’s say there is light at the end of the tunnel, so we will get through the next two events with the situation we had already, but I think all in all, the way we have managed this is not bad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew that we had to take this decision, we went through it. We said like this many races already, after the race and you asked me, are you disappointed? And of course I am disappointed, but it’s a decision we took, and we tried to learn as much as we could.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think we, again [Sunday], we have learned a lot, it could be easy to just say we do five laps and we stop, but we are racers and I always say that if we go through difficult times, then we will be strong when we go to easier times.\u201d<\/p>\n Aston Martin are expected to bring a big package of upgrades around the summer break, and that day cannot come soon enough for Alonso and Stroll \u2013 the Spaniard finished three laps down in Austria, while Stroll once again did not see the chequered flag.<\/p>\n