Aston Martin‘s Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack was quick to clarify why Team Principal and designer Adrian Newey was not present at last weekend’s Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
The famed design guru was absent from his post in Shanghai, having taken charge of the team at the season-opener in Australia.
It is the first time the 67-year-old has been Team Principal in his many years at the top of the sport, having also designed this year’s AMR26 challenger.
Newey caused a sensation in Melbourne by laying out frank admissions about the team’s current state of performance, in conjunction with its troublesome Honda power unit.
The former Red Bull, McLaren and Williams man told the world’s press that both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll could not complete a race distance in the car, due to risking “permanent nerve damage” due to the extreme vibrations the Honda PU’s power unit causes.
Newey’s absence was therefore going to naturally raise a few eyebrows and questions, particularly at such a delicate time for the Silverstone-based squad.
But Krack, speaking in Shanghai, was quick to refute any conspiracy theories as to why Newey was not on the pit wall, or indeed the country.
“There is a plan in place about where he’s supposed to come and where he does not, so we have not changed that,” he said.
When asked if he would miss any more races this year, Krack replied: “I would have to go through the plan, but it was always clear that Adrian was not going to do all the races.”
Krack cites remote TV coverage of F1 as example for Newey work continuation
Like previous Team Principal and current Chief Strategy Officer Andy Cowell last year, it is thought that Newey will be missing for around a third of the races.
Newey will apparently decide on exactly which races he will attend based upon the level of value he will provide the team, so the non-attendancies are not yet set in stone.
Krack, citing television coverage of F1 as an example, pointed out that jobs can be done in the sport remotely.
“These days, with modern communication, I think it doesn’t really matter where people are sitting,” he said.
“I heard Sky Germany was commentating the Australian Grand Prix from Germany, so I think that is no problem these days.”
It is true that these days, some Team Principals do not attend all races, and therefore, Newey’s non-attendance in Shanghai is pretty much a non-story, and one that Aston has thankfully now nipped in the bud.
With Honda’s home race in Suzuka coming up next weekend, it is likely Newey will be there, and will then use the enforced five-week gap between that and Miami as a platform to carry on cracking the whip with Sakura to ensure its power unit troubles ease.
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