Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack believes the qualifying crash that ruled Lance Stroll out of the Singapore Grand Prix showcased the driver’s “commitment”.
Stroll was striving to escape the Q1 drop zone on Saturday evening when he got onto the outside kerb at the final corner and span off into the barrier at high speed.
The session was delayed extensively to conduct barrier repairs, whilst the Canadian attributed a multitude of factors to the incident that curtailed his qualifying.
On Sunday morning, Aston Martin announced that Stroll would not participate in the race, citing the damage done to his AMR23 car and the driver’s condition as the reasons for the withdrawal of his entry.
However, Krack has commended Stroll for the crash, underlining that it demonstrates to his detractors that he does possess the dedication needed to be a Formula 1 driver.
“It’s proof that he’s full in to all the guys that are thinking he’s not, to go into this corner at that speed, you have to have some commitment, and this is another proof that he fully has it,” he said.
Stroll currently languishes five places and 123 points behind team-mate Fernando Alonso in the Drivers’ standings, having only scored three points in the past five rounds.
But amid speculation over his future, Krack confirmed ahead of the Italian Grand Prix weekend that Stroll would be remaining with the team for 2024 alongside Alonso.
Asked if Stroll’s latest blunder would be a dent to his confidence, Krack responded: “No I don’t think so. Lance is very strong. He’s much stronger than you think.
“You saw him in the TV pen yesterday [Saturday] after this. So I’m not concerned at all there will be anything. He will go in the car and he will be fast.”
The Aston Martin team boss has also denied that Stroll’s participation in this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix could be at risk.
Pressed on whether there was any risk he would be forced to miss Suzuka, Krack said: “Zero.”
Krack is convinced that electing to only run one of its cars in Sunday’s Singapore GP – Alonso eventually trailed home 15th after an eventful race – was the correct decision to ensure Stroll is fully recovered and ready to tackle the next round in Japan.
“Yeah, it is what you say, he’s generally sore,” he said regarding Stroll’s condition.
“If you have an incident like that, you stress your muscles anyway. The analogy is like if you spend a very hard day in the gym, then also you feel not great. This is where we’re at.
“I think it’s the right decision to be ready for Japan, because it’s already in a couple of days’ time.”
