Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has conceded the shared use of Mercedes' wind tunnel could be "a factor" in his team being off the pace this season, but insisted it was no excuse for the downfall.

Whereas the 2023 campaign saw Aston Martin claim seven podium finishes in the first 18 grands prix, the return this term is zero. The team is lying fifth in the constructors' standings with a best finish of fifth - this recorded at the second event of the year in Saudi Arabia.

"I think that would be too easy of an excuse," said Krack when asked about the compromises of sharing a wind tunnel. "We have another team using the same wind tunnel with less time. So this is not an excuse."

Pressed as to whether it could be a factor in the performance deficit, he added: "That's possible, but still, we are quite far behind that team. So it's maybe a factor for them.

"It's maybe a factor for us, but I think with the same tool, we could do better."

The issue of a shared wind tunnel is not one that will affect Aston Martin long-term, however, with the team's state-of-the-art tunnel expected to come online by 1 January, when aero testing is permitted to begin on the 2026 cars.

While a combination of the new wind tunnel and key technical hires, including that of Adrian Newey from Red Bull, is hoped to turn Aston Martin into a frontrunning team, Krack doubled down in his refusal to wholly blame the team's current situation for its form.

"If you are a team in the building process, it's not only to put the wind tunnel there but also to have the technology and the methodology and the way you go about testing," he explained. "The same is [true] for simulation.

"We were a customer team for many years and you have to build all these things in parallel, but if that is the choice you make, you should not use it as an excuse afterwards.

"You have that part [the wind tunnel] that has to be developed, but you have also a car to be developed and you must not use one to excuse the other."