Krack’s reputation indicates Aston Martin may have played a blind man

Aston Martin’s new Formula 1 team boss Mike Krack could prove to be a very wise appointment.

F1 operates in its own bubble most of the time, but it’s not a closed shop. Aston Martin’s recruitment of ex-BMW Motorsport boss Krack is a reminder that McLaren hired then-Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl as team principal – and, to a lesser extent, Dorilton Capital, who brought long-time senior Volkswagen Jost Capito to Williams appointed CEO.

We know how well it works for McLaren to look outside of Formula 1 to bring Seidl on board. Aston Martin will no doubt hope that Krack can make the same impact.

Comparisons between the two are inevitable – this piece could be considered Exhibit A – but it is not simply about seeing all recruits from high-level programs outside of Formula 1 as equal.

The decisive factor is the competence of the individual. Seidl has been an excellent addition to McLaren because he is a very capable individual with skills well suited to running an F1 team and McLaren has a structure that allows him to thrive. It wasn’t a good job just because he worked at Porsche before.

Following the same logic, Krack’s arrival at Aston Martin does not guarantee the same results as Seidl’s McLaren tenure, only because of the superficial similarity of “The F1 team hired a boss from a major German manufacturer”.

What’s so encouraging for Aston Martin is that those who have worked with Krack give a clear sense of someone who has already made the transition from an immensely capable race engineer to someone who thrives in a leadership role.

He has held many positions and worked at the highest level as an engineer and program manager for factory motorsport. Described as quiet, hardworking, and straightforward, Krack appears to pass the character test with flying colors.

Like Seidl and Capito, Krack is not facing a big step into the unknown with Formula 1. He started his motorsport career in 2001 at Sauber as a data analysis engineer, then became a race engineer before 2004, working alongside Felipe Massa and rising to the role of Chief Engineer F1 in 2006.

And although he left the company before the 2009 season, it would be ignorant to think that the fact that he’s spent more than a decade away from Formula One hasn’t enhanced his existing skills and given him the opportunity to learn new ones.

Often referred to as the pinnacle of motorsport, F1 aims to attract the very best in all aspects. But the racing world outside of Formula 1 is inhabited by extremely capable personnel, with many major motorsport programs and major technological challenges.

Krack is clearly such a person and his long stint with BMW and shorter stint with Porsche has given him first-hand experience of participating in important, challenging programs from a technical and most recently a managerial perspective.

The latter is very important. Since returning to BMW in 2014, he has held increasingly senior positions in the motorsport programmes, eventually making him a key figure in announcing BMW’s return to the premier class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans through an LMDh collaboration with Dallara.

It also put him at the forefront of driver affairs in BMW’s Formula E program and GT racing. He had to manage the process of turning a large list of competitors into the final FE lineup. After BMW works FE drivers Alexander Sims and Antonio Felix da Costa collided in a one-two in Marrakech in 2019, Krack is said to have handled it on the spot immediately afterwards – and well.

This is partly because his extensive experience as a race engineer and his own background in karting has made Krack a person who works very well with drivers because he respects the needs and demands of the human and technical sides of a team.

So when Martin Whitmarsh describes Krack as “just the right breed of dynamic and modern team leader” with a “blend of experience and expertise that makes him the ideal choice for us”, you have every reason to believe him.

Szafnauer was likely to always be a difficult man to replace, given the personal affection and respect he would have garnered over many years at Team Silverstone, not to mention the skills he clearly possessed in a managerial role.

However, Krack could become a real upgrade. His career will automatically command respect from all areas of the team, but the way he treats people will no doubt accelerate that process and draw people to join his leadership. He will also have an excellent understanding of the technical requirements and should be an excellent resource for a hardworking, experienced four-time world champion like Sebastian Vettel to call on as a driver.

The main question mark is how well his experience compares to juggling the demands of a big manufacturer like BMW with a CEO like Lawrence Stroll, who has big ambitions for a team he’s heavily invested in. These are different situations and come with different challenges.

If Stroll believes Krack is the right man for the job – and there’s every reason to think he might be – then giving him the authority to direct the team on his terms will be crucial. Whitmarsh, to whom Krack will report, could play an important role there.

Got it right, Aston Martin could have played a blinder, as there’s a sense that Krack could meet the rare criteria of being technically savvy, familiar with the demands of managerial positions and being a good manager who leads by example.

And with a reputation for being a no-nonsense man, he should fit well with the no-nonsense approach that has typified Team Silverstone in the past, especially when it was at its most effective.

It’s an element that was quickly identified as something the team had to hold on to as Stroll’s investment poured in.

Krack could be the perfect leader to protect Aston Martin’s existing strengths while still being able to handle the higher stakes that come with leading an ambitious F1 team.