Aston Martin to back out in 2025? Alonso remains confident: “The AMR25 is a step forward”

If there is one team that we have not seen much during winter testing, it is Aston Martin. During the three days of testing, the British team remained discreet, whether in terms of time (7th fastest team, with a best time of 1'30″229 - or in its presence on the track with only 306 laps completed, the second lowest total after Red Bull (304 laps). The Greens did not have a restful week on the Sakhir circuit, with limited driving time for Lance stroll – sick on Friday and forced to give up his seat in the afternoon – and Fernando Alonso.

"It's already very short with a normal program because there is only a day and a half [of testing] before the start of the championship but for us it was even shorter this time, said the Spaniard on Friday evening, on the evening of the third and final day of testing. The first day we had some telemetry issues, the second day it rained in the morning, and the third day the schedule was normal, but between the three mornings we maybe didn't have enough laps... but it's the same for everyone, it rained for everyone!"

Fifth in the Constructors' Championship last year, Aston Martin appears to have lost further ground to the rest of the midfield. Alpine et Williams gave a better impression than the British team at Sakhir, and some observers even believe that the Greens have fallen behind in the hierarchy, to around seventh place. For the Silverstone team, the development of the AMR25 has focused on the behavior of the car, in order to make it more manageable but above all more predictable for its two drivers. For Fernando Alonso, even if the difference is not obvious for the moment, the Asturian underlines the progress made during the winter.

“It’s hard to comment. I think you have to go from one car to the other to really see the differences, but the AMR25 is definitely a step up from the 2024, says the double world champion. The car is quicker, all the data we have is well correlated and we see more downforce at all speeds and in all corners. Obviously it's a relative gain compared to everyone else - everyone is improving - but we'll find out in Australia." In any case, Fernando Alonso does not see Aston Martin coming to challenge the four Top Teams from 2025. « I think the top four teams will keep an advantage, especially at the start of the year, but hopefully we can get closer and closer to them."

For Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, the 2025 season will be a transition year before the big upheaval of 2026 with the arrival of the new technical regulations. The British team will use this campaign as a preparation and set-up season before 2026, in order to test the new tools introduced at Silverstone (new simulator, new wind tunnel, etc.) and to be ready for next year.

“It’s crucial for us to get things in place and have perfect synchronisation between everyone in the factory and a correlation between the wind tunnel and the track. The 2026 regulations are coming up fast and we need to make sure the rest of the team is ready to put in all the effort needed.”, recalls Fernando Alonso, his eyes already fixed on 2026. Before that, there are still 24 Grands Prix to be contested this year. A year that could be very long on the track for the two Aston Martin drivers if the performances are not there...

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