Colin Kolles , former team principal of teams like Jordan, Mildland, Spyker, Force India or HRT, has a lot of experience in Formula 1 and knows how the championship moves from the inside.
The Romanian participated in the AvD Motor & Sport Magazine program of Sport1 and criticized the owner of the Aston Martin team, Lawrence Stroll , for the way in which he directs and also manages the structure.
“If the team owner thinks he has to manage everything himself, it’s not going to work out. He thinks he understands everything better than anyone else and puts his son at the center of the business. I think this is totally the wrong approach.”
“It’s like taking a million of any coin and throwing it straight into the fire. Because bills burn quickly in Formula 1 if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s exactly what happens at Aston Martin ,” he explained.
However, contrary to what Kolles predicts, Lawrence Stroll predicts great long-term success for the team, even hoping to be in a position to challenge for the title in 2025.
Despite the investment he made in the team and the name change in 2021, the team was at a loss last year and this course has started at the bottom of the grid despite the great objectives they had set for the new technical regulations of 2022.
Kolles also said it was a mistake for Stroll to buy Mercedes parts and generally copy the German manufacturer’s solutions, as it negatively affected the team.
“From the outside, everything looks normal, but up close, that’s not exactly the case.”
“With that approach, the efficiency of the people within the team is reduced, because they are deprived of the opportunity to find solutions for themselves. If you decide to buy parts from other cars, that negatively affects the mentality of the team, because those people will understand that the boss no longer trusts them.
Kolles also believes that Sebastian Vettel, who missed the first two races due to COVID-19, is not keen to get back behind the wheel of the AMR22 even if he is 100% recovered.
“I don’t think Vettel wants to drive the car at all. He doesn’t want to do that to himself. It’s definitely a very risky thought, but I’m sure he has seriously questioned whether he will continue to do so.”
“Sebastian is great, he has made a lot of money so far and he has a family. I think that affects his mood, he has a lot of experience and he understands what is going on in the team.”
“I don’t think Aston Martin will get any results, I don’t see the team going anywhere.”
