More than a week after announcing the departure of its sporting director for more than a decade, Aston Martin has confirmed that Mike Krack will be the man tasked with replacing Otmar Szafnauer as Formula 1 team principal from 2022.
Mike Krack has always been related to the world of motorsports and more specifically with his management. His name is not new in the world of Formula 1, since in 2001 he signed for Sauber and remained in the structure until 2009, before embarking on a series of adventures, including the DTM, Formula E, WEC , etc.
Before the arrival of this announcement, Krack worked for BMW , a structure he arrived at in 2014 as an engineer, and later ended up rising to the position of head of racing engineering, testing, operations and organization in 2018.
In this way, the team also ends with the latest rumors that pointed to the name of Marcin Budkowski, who last Thursday, January 13, officially disassociated himself from the Alpine team.
After confirming his arrival, these were his first statements: “It is an emotion and an honor to have been appointed to the position of Aston Martin team manager, I am very grateful to Lawrence Stroll and Martin Whitmarsh for giving me such a fantastic opportunity.
” Aston Martin is one of the world’s greatest automotive brands, and being asked to play a leading role in leading the way to success in Formula One is a challenge I plan to accept with energy and enthusiasm.”
“I have been working in motorsport for over 20 years and I worked in Formula 1 with Sebastian Vettel in 2006 and 2007 when I was an engineer for BMW-Sauber and he was the team’s test driver.
“I have great respect for his speed and ability and it will be fantastic to meet him. Lance Stroll is also a really fast and talented driver, with 100 Grands Prix under his belt, I am really looking forward to working closely with him.”
“The Silverstone team has always impressed me. It is full of talented people and people from the racing world. The culture and values are what it takes to be successful in motorsport. I know it and my new Aston Martin colleagues do too. You know. We will work incredibly hard. We want to win. Together, we will.”
Martin Whitmarsh , CEO of Aston Martin, also welcomed him: ” Mike Krack is the right person to fill a role as a modern and dynamic team principal who, working with our other senior leaders under the general direction of Lawrence [Stroll] and mine, as well as our growing staff of qualified and committed employees, will deliver the success in Formula 1 that we are determined to achieve.”
Finally, Lawrence Stroll , president of Aston Martin also wanted to say a few words: “Winning in Formula 1 is about uniting the best efforts of all people (drivers, engineers, mechanics, etc.) and Mike is perfectly capable of doing it “.
“We are hiring brilliant new people every week. The construction of the new factory is going very well. We have a fantastic list of excellent partners and sponsors. We are about to embark on the second season of our five-year plan, which aims to win the Formula 1 World Championship. Mike will play a leadership role, liaising with Martin Whitmarsh and leading our technical and operational functions.”
