Mike Krack said that Fernando Alonso will be a challenge for the team.
The two-time champion was not offered the terms he was looking for to stay on.
He can push us more than a driver who doesn't have that level of experience. It will probably be more difficult than it is right now.
We talked about this." We wanted to know what the pros and cons were. The decision was made that it is the right step.
Alonso is considered to be one of the sport's finest drivers at the ripe old age of 41.
He is known to be a demanding coach.
Sebastian Vettel is retiring from F1 at the end of the season and will be replaced by a Spaniard. There are six races left in the season.
Krack said in an exclusive interview that Alonso was the number one candidate for the job because of his speed.
He admitted that it would be difficult for them.
Krack said that normally drivers with this experience don't want to win. If they have won, this desire will go down.
Fernando has a combination of speed, hunger, and motivation. It's the perfect candidate.
If the car we deliver isn't good enough, we know it will be hard. If the car is not fast, it's hard to drive.
It's important that Fernando is part of the team to make the next step.
We did that with Sebastian. These drivers are hard to manage. I don't think Sebastian is that difficult to manage if you are honest and transparent. I believe the same thing for Fernando.
When expectations don't match deliverables or aren't outspoken, there are difficulties.
He knows that we won't win the first race.
He can be sure that we will listen to what he has to say. We have to tell him that we can't do it. This is the next thing we can do.
It is not going to be a problem if we have this type of dialogue.
The season was disappointing for the company.
Lawrence Stroll, a Canadian billionaire, set a target of being able to win by 2025.
After finishing fourth in their previous incarnation as Racing Point, they have plummeted to seventh and ninth in the last two seasons.
Stroll has funded a new aerodynamics factory, which is due to start coming on stream early next year, as well as launching a recruitment drive, including signing former Red Bull head of Dan Fallows as technical director.
The first car designed by Fallows will be in the year 2023.
Krack, who joined as team principal in February, said that the growth plan in combination with the new technical regulations was a little bit more than they could digest at the time.
He said that this year's performance was a result of a lot of things.
They started this year with an aerodynamic concept that they were unable to maximize because it suffered from porpoising, a phenomenon that has affected many of the teams.
We have a small structure where you put a lot of financial resources in and you grow quickly. The whole structure can't adapt to rapid growth.
If you grow too fast, you will reduce the efficiency.
The car concept that was decided was a direction that offered high aerodynamic potential, but due to porpoising it couldn't be exploited.
That led to the abandonment of the first aerodynamic concept and the switch to another one, like that of Red Bull.
After a blip at the last race in Italy, the car had been on an upward performance trend.
Krack said that they identified the technical weaknesses of the car and worked hard to eliminate them.
One is car weight, one is feedback to the drivers, and one is aerodynamic performance and we have improved all of them.
The developments we have taken to this point give me good confidence that we can continue this at the end of the season.
Krack admitted that Stroll was very demanding.
He said that the financial means he's put into the team gives him the right to be demanding. He isn't over- pressing us.
He wants to know what is going on, what are the next steps, why have we done what we have done, and what is our strategy. He has other things to do. He doesn't come in and decide all the items.
Every week your chairman will be given an update. The phone calls are more like catch ups.
I like his patience. He is realistic and knows what he is doing because success has not come the way he wanted it from the beginning.
Krack said his job so far was to help the team adapt to its new circumstances.
He said that when you get a cash injection, it's normal to want to do more. Sometimes it's hard to say: "Stop, we wait with this, and we focus only on this point until we have solved it." It's not easy to say "Yes we do it."
How many will you catch when I throw you three balls? None is likely. You can catch it if I throw it. When one item is done, take the next one.
The improvements need to be delivered. If you can see progress at the end of year four or in the middle of year five, it's not important.
You have to adjust along the way if you don't see the path.
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