Aston Martin's struggles weighing on the entire team, says Krack

Aston Martin endured a challenging weekend at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, a difficult period for the team as they await a significant upgrade package.

The strategic decision to concentrate on a single major development later in the season, rather than incremental updates, has led to race weekends being described as "painful exercises" by team principal Mike Krack.

The AMR26 cars qualified at the back of the grid, with both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso retiring from the race due to mechanical issues. Alonso had started from the pit lane after power unit component changes.

"It's weighing on everyone," Krack stated, acknowledging the strain on the drivers and garage staff. "You can feel it in the garage, you can feel it especially with the drivers. It's a very difficult situation." He emphasized the team's commitment to the development strategy and the need to maintain high motivation while continuing to extract performance from the current car.

Alonso expressed gratitude for the fan support, particularly in Barcelona, but regretted the team's inability to deliver strong results. "Unfortunately, we didn't give to them what they deserve in terms of results," he said, hoping for improvements in the latter half of the season.