Aston already has a lot of technical heavyweights – but Newey will be in charge
Aston Martin Formula 1 boss Mike Krack says that the team has “plenty of time” to adjust to the arrival of Adrian Newey and properly define what his role is.
Newey will start work on March 1 and owner Lawrence Stroll has made it clear that he will be the head of a technical structure that already features a lot of leading names, with others still coming, notably former Ferrari technical chief Enrique Cardile.
McLaren faced an awkward situation early this year when new recruit David Sanchez didn’t fit a revised technical structure and left not long after his arrival.
Krack is confident that Aston will be able to accommodate everyone in the right jobs.
“I think we will have plenty of time with him joining in March,” he said. “We will have a close look at it. Any team that can have someone like that will have to discuss its structure and how to adjust it, to make the best use of it.
“This is what we’re going to do. We’re not in a rush. We have plenty of time. We have some plans that we will need to discuss with him, but I think we will find a good solution.”
Asked by this writer if it might be difficult given the number of top technical people the team has he said: “I think at the end of the day, you have to look at which areas you want to cover, how much overlap do you want to have in a structure, and who is accountable for what? And that is an exercise that we have to go through.
“But you have to do that each time in each department with each new recruit, you need to define what are the roles and the responsibilities and what is this new employee accountable for?
“It’s the same with the senior leadership, the technical leadership. I think if you cover all the areas and you allocate them properly, there will be no such problems.”
He added: “The most important thing in F1 is to be flexible and open for change. If you’re stuck in the past, then you’ve seen some, some examples of the grid, how it can go.
“So I think you need to be open. You need to be dynamic at all times. And that is how we are approaching it.
Krack believes that Newey’s approach will be inspiring for the younger engineers in the Aston camp.
“The thinking differently, that is something that I think could add an extra, but then also the inspiration,” he said.
“I think a lot of engineers will be inspired by the approach, by the way of doing, because it’s a different approach.
“And I think with all the young engineers we are having, plus also the medium level, I think they will all benefit greatly from that, because you just see that things can be done differently, or that you just follow different ideas. I think it will be inspiring for all of us.”
Krack said that Newey’s arrival will make Aston appealing to everyone, including drivers.
“I think it would make a difference for everybody, starting with the staff. I think when you manage to appoint Adrian Newey, I think it’s, first of all, it’s a proof that the project is credible, that the whole vision of Lawrence is not only words, but it’s really action that we can take confidence of as a team.
“This is not anymore underdogs like it used to be in the past. It’s a team that should be confident that it can do it, but then also you have a completely different approach with partners, and same for race drivers. So I think it opens a lot of doors for the future.”
Asked if the door was now open to Max Verstappen he said: “The door for Max Verstappen is always open I think, for every team.”
Newey’s arrival will have an impact on the cost cap. He will now become of the top three highest paid team members whose salaries are outside the cap, and he will thus push someone else into the cap zone – thus absorbing several hundred thousand pounds that now can’t be spent elsewhere.
“It’s a challenge for everybody,” said Krack. “Not only for us, but it’s the same challenge for every team.
“You have a cost cap. In the cost cap, there is the all the relevant personnel that you have to incorporate, you have a top three exclusion, and you have to incorporate your development budget, and a lot of other things as they are described in the financial regulations.
“I think most important thing in these kinds of cases is proper planning and proper anticipation.
“What is going to happen, where are our expenses, and what is our development plan, and then you need contingencies for accidents, for crashes and stuff like that.
“Our finance team is very strong in planning this properly ahead in terms of cost monitoring. So I think, to be honest, I have full confidence that there will be no issue.”
Adam Cooper F1 