There is a surprise at Aston Martin as Germany’s Mike Krack joins as team principal.
Krack has little modern F1 experience, but worked with Sauber for eight years during the BMW era, having started his career with the Munich firm. He rose to be chief engineer. He left F1 with BMW in 2009 and worked with Sebastian Vettel in that era. After BMW quit in 2009 he did some jobs in Formula 3 before returning to BMW as chief engineer in DTM for two years before switching to Porsche as head of track engineering with the LMP1 programme.
He returned to BMW Motorsport in 2014 in senior engineering roles and eventually was named head of BMW Motorsport in March, although the company has little left now after its fixation on electric cars filtered through the system.
It will be interesting to see how he does, dealing with a team owner who is also a racing dad, and a team that is in a state of considerable flux at the moment.
joeblogsf1 
Hopefully things don’t fall between the Krack’s at Aston Martin.
My evil chum Spesh wonders how long it’ll take before a TV colemantator asks whether anyone has seen him…
Hi Joe, on the basis of this appointment do you see Budkowski fitting into this seemingly messy organisation? I know Lawrence Stroll is a highly competent man by all accounts, but this does not make sense?
At the end of the day don’t you need a car that is faster than others?
Yes. But to get that you need your own engine supplier
So Mercedes customers don’t have the same engines as the factory? That doesn’t make sense to me.
No that is not what I said. However when a car and engineer are designed to fit together there is less compromise.
Thanks. Fascinating how tight the design process can be.
Stroll has no problem spending money, but racing isn’t selling brand names. I wonder if he will be able to stand back and let the racers run the team. I picture the atmosphere getting tense everytime he enters the shop.
Now that he has departed Alpine but not joined Aston Martin, could Marcin Budkowski be headed back to the FIA to either bolster or take the place of Michael Masi?
I have considered that as a possibility…
Interesting if not odd appointment….
Still he’s started off well in the PR/propaganda department with his glowing quote about Lance!
They all have to say that. Lance is sometimes quick but he’s not the full package.
> They all have to say that.
Indeed.
Also: that right there, that’s the mark of an unhealthy organisation.
Nothing wrong with Stroll insisting that his son’s drive is non-negotiable.
Lots wrong if everyone has to pretend that that isn’t what’s going on.
There a reason that the Soviet Union was and the current British government now are incapable of doing anything competently. A culture of lies that can’t be questioned poisons everything.
Listening to Lawrence Stroll on the “Beyond the Grid” podcast, he comes across as a logical thinker who does not mince words. His career history in business is top-notch. But the juxtaposition between the forthright, take-no-prisoners business person, and the nepotism is difficult to reconcile. Although Lance is definitely a decent F1 driver, it is obvious why he is there. Fundamentally there is a conflict between what is best for the business & team that he is leading, and what he wants for his son as a father.
Lance is one of the fortunate members of the Billionaire Father’s Club, as Lewis calls it.
It is what it is but, at the same time, it’s a shame that Oscar Piastri is not on the grid this year. If a young driver deserves an F1 drive on pure merit, it’s Oscar. He’s certainly more deserving than Mazespin, Latifi, Stroll, and Zhou.
So very true
It seems to me he’s been very clever with his choice of words – if indeed they were his and not just something put together by the teams Communications Director.
I believe he said Stroll Jnr was ‘fast’ and ‘talented’; what he *didn’t* say say was that these two abilities seem to appear in isolation at various times over the course of a GP weekend rather than running in sync throughout the event!!
This hire is into the role you thought Marcin would be offered (…/would accept)?
That’s not a poke at you. Partly I’m checking my understanding.
Partly I’m just gobsmacked.
Has Budkowski turned AMR down in favour of an opportunity elsewhere?
I was surprised but Marcin is smart and would probably recognise that a jump from Alpine to Aston would be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Krack’s career profile reminds me of McLaren’s Seidl. Maybe papa Stroll was inspired by McLaren’s recent moving up the grid.
I wonder if Otmar Szafnauer is still expected to go to Alpine. His case is a bit mysterious as there was no reason given for his departure from Aston Martin. If he was let go for professional reasons rather than personal ones, I don’t see why Alpine would want another team’s reject. Fernando is running out of time for his third championship.
Is this the worst job in Formula 1, Joe?
Stuck between blowhard Stroll Snr and slowcoach Stroll Jnr, rushing to copy the Mercedes whilst being given absurd targets. Likelihood of failure – about 95% ?
No, the worst job in F1 is to be Race Director.
Bingo.
Touché. Well played.
Only if you freelance the rules.
No, whatever you do is wrong.
Or Ferrari’s team principal
Only if you are unable to follow a clear set of rules.
It could be now, but back in the days of Virgin Racing, the worst job in Formula 1 had to be the poor soul who had to go around cleaning up grinning jumper Dickie Branston’s 🐂💩.
Maybe it’s just me but I’ve noticed some radio conversations between Lance and his team that sound like a “boss telling the staff” what they’re supposed to do. Quite different to Lewis’ conversations, for instance.
Hi Joe, what has happened to your graphics?
It was easier to see who is replying to whom before….
No idea. I haven’t had the chance to look
Andrew Benson reports that “it is hard to imagine how the new season could start with Hamilton in a Mercedes and Masi still running race control.” So do you think Masi will be fired?
No. That would mean that the FIA had succumbed to pressure from a team. It cannot afford to do that.
With Krack’s links to BMW could it be that BMW might be looking to return to F1 as an engine supplier only or take a stake in AMR?
On another topic, it seems that sprint races are being held to ransom by some F1 teams for more money. I’ve been very uncomfortable about sprint races as if you damage the car that’s your race weekend is over? Perhaps it would best to run F2 cars and give the reserve drivers a championship instead?
if Stroll wants to win, he needs the best drivers. hard to take the current lineup seriously no matter how many managers swap places