Aston Martin is not targeting McLaren in the F1 Abu Dhabi finale.

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack claimed that the Silverstone outfit will not be focused on the upcoming Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix against McLaren.

For the majority of the season, Aston Martin led the Woking team until the United States Grand Prix, when McLaren moved into fourth place in the constructors’ world championship.

Following Lance Stroll’s fifth-place finish and Fernando Alonso’s eighth-place finish after a first-lap spin in Las Vegas, Aston has closed the gap to 11 points with only the season finale at Yas Island remaining.

When asked if the team’s strategy will be centered on defeating McLaren, Krack merely stated that the team must get the best results possible.

“For me, it doesn’t change anything, compared to two or three races ago,” he told reporters. “We can only influence our own actions.”

“The first thing is that we need a fast car in Abu Dhabi because we are falling behind.” So we can’t be on the defensive; we have to go all in and see what happens. We must try our best and then wait and see what happens.”

Krack dismissed the idea that the team had rediscovered its path after being disoriented while experimenting with different aero packages.

“We were not lost before,” he explained. “I believe it would be arrogant to claim that we are on top of everything. I’ve stated it before: vehicles are extremely complex. I believe we still have a lot to learn. So I won’t say we’re on top of everything. But this year has taught us a lot.”

Stroll’s recent excellent form has aided Aston’s challenge for fourth place, with the Canadian finishing fifth in both Interlagos and Las Vegas.

In the latter, he charged from 19th on the grid after avoiding the first-corner turmoil and gaining 10 places on the first lap.

“It was a good race, but it was also a good race two weeks ago [in Brazil],” Krack stated when questioned about Stroll’s performance in Las Vegas by Motorsport.com.

“I believe the key today was to understand the tyres and the strategy.” It was always the intention to do something similar to what we did there.

“In the beginning, there was a little bit of luck involved in making a lot of positions.” With the exception of Esteban [Ocon], everyone who did not have two [sets] went out of the points when you look at who had how many hards remaining and who didn’t.”

Stroll is regaining trust, according to Krack, following a period of dissatisfaction caused by a string of technical issues and mishaps.

“What happens is he’s beginning to get confidence, the results are coming, and then you get more confident,” Krack said. “He was out in Q2 yesterday [Saturday], but there was no drama because he builds this confidence.” These are things that are difficult to quantify.

“It’s encouraging to see that he handled the tyres so well today [Sunday] and was able to pass some people.” So, I believe that when you bring all of this together, the results will follow.”

“He just said he got surprised by the low grip and turned around, but I’m not sure if it was oil related or dust,” he added of Alonso’s first-lap incident.

“It was quite difficult. I’m not sure what happened to Lando [Norris] later, but it seemed like something to me as well. The tyre pressure remained low. Already, the laps to the grid were quite challenging for all of the drivers.”