Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has reiterated that his team did “nothing wrong” while designing their B-spec car, despite Red Bull’s protestations.
The British side introduced a new chassis in Spain that was intended to improve their fortunes having scored points in two of the opening six rounds of the season up to that point, but it was instantly noted that the sidepods looked strikingly similar to those of the Red Bull car.
Dr Helmut Marko affirmed that there is “proof data was downloaded,” indicating that one of the employees that left Red Bull for Aston Martin over the winter – one of whom being Dan Fallows – stole information from the Austrian outfit.
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Team principal Christian Horner stated that it is a “criminal offence” to steal data from another organisation, but Aston Martin chief technical officer, Andy Green, called the accusations “very wide of the mark.”
Indeed, the FIA took a look at the work the Silverstone-based team had done on the new design, and corroborated their claim that they had started work on the new concept late last year, so had taken nothing from Red Bull.
Krack reminds Red Bull that there was no wrongdoing on his team’s side, so does not expect any further fallout.
“I do not expect anything more, to be honest. I think we will concentrate on ourselves,” he told Reuters.
“I think their investigations will not lead to anything and I think they will have the championship battle to concentrate on.
“We are not really concerned because we haven’t done anything wrong.”
Since the upgrades were introduced, Aston Martin have scored just one point through Sebastian Vettel last weekend in Monaco but, with 15 rounds still to go in the championship, Krack maintains that there is plenty left to fight for as the team look to develop their car.
“We have not even had a third of the season, we can still be world champions mathematically,” he quipped.
“We don’t give up, the season is far from being a write-off.
“We have good people, we have made a first step with the concept change and it shows how well the team can analyse and react; it’s not too proud to change direction.
“I would be surprised if we finished the season where we are now.”
On the subject of Vettel’s future, the German recently affirmed that the four-time champion is extremely dedicated, so appeared optimistic of him staying.
“If you see him in a debrief or on the phone, the way he gets involved – nobody drives like that who doesn’t want to drive,” said Krack.
“Nobody acts like that who doesn’t want to drive.
“When you have someone like Sebastian, you have to try to keep him.
“It’s a mixture of extreme driving quality, experience and a very positive person who helps us progress.
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“We clearly have our way that we want to continue with Sebastian. We’ll see about everything else at a later date.”
Aston Martin sit ninth in the Constructors’ Championship after seven rounds of the 2022 season, ahead only of Williams.