Mike Krack joined Aston Martin this week taking on the role of team principal after finishing his career at BMW. At the moment the English team is undergoing a restructuring both at an organizational and structural level.
Krack worked side by side with Sebastian Vettel when the German made his Formula 1 debut with BMW in 2006 and knows him well. The contract of the former Ferrari driver will expire at the end of 2022 and the new team principal has talked about this aspect.
“I think it’s clear that a guy like Sebastian, a four-time world champion, doesn’t want to fight for a fifteenth, twelfth or eighth position. Our accomplishment is to provide it with a high-performance car, but also a level structure “.
“I think Seb is a smart guy and I think he will not only focus on this year’s car, but on how the team is growing and the potential he will be able to express. If we can show him this, I think we will have the opportunity to keep him with us for a long time ”.
“In all honesty, this is not something we have dealt with yet, but it is our job to provide him with the best package. Then it will be up to Seb to decide whether to stay or not ”.
Krack then stressed how Sebastian Vettel is a huge asset to the Silverstone-based team.
“Let’s put it this way, first of all he is a very nice guy and in this way he manages to have the team around him. He is very respectful and it is an ethic that I share. Compared to when I met him last time, he can now boast four world titles and a decidedly superior experience. Besides, he is an intelligent boy ”.
Mike Krack, Team Principal, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Aston Martin Racing
“He manages to channel this experience in the right way. He never compares with the way he worked in the past, but he knows exactly what he needs to go faster ”.
Despite the bond they’ve had in the past, Krack admitted he didn’t speak to Vettel before accepting Aston Martin’s offer.
“We didn’t talk to Seb because I didn’t want to be influenced by just one opinion. Also, these kinds of deals are very, very confidential. You can’t talk to anyone about it and the companies are very strict from this point of view to prevent rumors from immediately circulating ”.
“I have adhered to everything we had agreed upon in terms of confidentiality. I don’t know if the team and Seb talked about me at that stage, maybe they did or maybe not, but I’ve never contacted Sebastian before. “
Now that he is officially the new team principal of Aston Martin, Krack has admitted that he immediately found the feeling with the four-time world champion.
“When Seb first drove the third car in Turkey I was his engineer and I think that created a special bond between us. Last week he asked me if I remembered that weekend in Istanbul. I think we have an excellent relationship ”.
“We didn’t stay in touch when I left F1, but when we met again it was like we never lost touch. Now we have a lot of stories to tell, not just about racing but also about family, children and things like that. They were very close in the past and I feel we are even more so now ”.
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