Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack is refusing to get involved in “any war of words” with Red Bull, as the Austrians continue to accuse the Silverstone-based team of copying their 2022 design.
Both during the season-opener in Bahrain and ahead of last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull senior figures continued to question the design of Aston Martin’s AMR23, with Sergio Pérez having stated during the Bahrain post-race press conference that there were “three Red Bulls” on the podium.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner added to the Mexican’s comments by admitting that “imitation is the biggest form of flattery”, whilst advisor Dr Helmut Marko took aim at former head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows, who is now Aston Martin’s technical director.
“It’s true, what Fallows had in his head cannot be erased,” Marko told Servus TV.
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“Copying the focus is not prohibited, but can you copy in such detail without having documentation of our car?”
Since making his comments, Marko has backtracked on what he said by suggesting that it’s all just a joke; however, Krack is making sure he keeps his distance from any potential mind games with the reigning world champions.
“We always decided we will not go into any war of words,” responded Krack.
Further comments will likely be made after Fernando Alonso claimed another podium on Sunday at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The Spaniard claimed a comfortable third place, after not having the pace to challenge either Pérez or Max Verstappen, who fought his way through the field from 15th.
With that in mind, Krack is certain that Red Bull still have a “substantial” advantage over his side despite the comments being made by the Austrians.
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“I think the gap is still substantial, we don’t know how much management that Red Bull had to do and did.
“I think it was quite comfortable for them to just get the mandatory tyres through and cruise the race to the end. So I think we have now one good result, we have improved our car.
“But we are fighting here with teams that are used to drive on the front, they are very used to high-intensity development. So I think let’s be respectful and humble, and see how it continues.”