Mike Krack has urged the media to go easy on Aston Martin\u2019s drivers after Lance Stroll\u2019s eight-word interview in the wake of qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin\u2019s difficult start to the season continued in Shanghai where Stroll and Fernando Alonso found themselves towards the back of the timesheets.<\/p>\n
Mike Krack defends Lance Stroll interview reaction<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Although both teammates completed the 19-lap Sprint race, they were last bar Sergio Perez at the chequered flag, and it was more of the same a few hours later in qualifying for the grand prix.<\/p>\n Alonso was P19, ahead of Valtteri Bottas, while Stroll was only faster than the second Cadillac of Perez.<\/p>\n Climbing out of his AMR26, the Canadian immediately headed to the media pen where he was quizzed on his session.<\/p>\n Asked if Aston Martin had made any progress since Australia: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Did he feel better for having completed more laps in Shanghai? \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Did he expect to make progress in the grand prix? \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Are there any positives? \u201cRight now, not much, no.\u201d<\/p>\n Having lined up at the back of the field on Sunday, Stroll\u2019s race came to a premature end due to a suspected battery issue.<\/p>\n More on Aston Martin\u2019s troubles<\/p>\n Fernando Alonso was losing feeling in \u2018hands and feet\u2019 before Chinese GP retirement<\/a><\/p>\n Alonso jokes Aston Martin losing out in F1\u2019s \u2018battery world championship\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The 27-year-old wasn\u2019t any more forthcoming in that brief interview. It wasn\u2019t the first time, likely also not the last, that Stroll raised eyebrows with his curt responses to media questions.<\/p>\n However, Aston Martin<\/a>\u2018s chief trackside officer Krack has called for a bit of understanding given the difficult situation that Aston Martin finds itself in.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the drivers it\u2019s the hardest,\u201d Krack told the media in Shanghai.<\/p>\n \u201cI said this already before, and I will repeat myself, and I also hope that it\u2019s also kind of over a request to you guys.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, the drivers, there\u2019s nothing they can do. Yeah, the drivers are super exposed. And they get the questions. They get the controversial questions.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard yesterday, complaints that Lance was not really giving many answers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to understand this situation. It is a sporting competition, it is emotional, we are all doing this because of the emotion and we do not want to be fighting at the back.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re putting so much energy into this. They often get questions that are sometimes not appropriate. Now, you can say they are professional athletes, but they also human beings.<\/p>\n \u201cSo help us, please. It\u2019s tough at the moment, but I think if we manage to take a little bit of consideration for the drivers in this, I think it will help all of us with our product.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n