Aston Martin have started the 2025 season with mixed fortunes, but their result in the Australian Grand Prix is enough for them to consider themselves the fifth best team on the grid. Despite the withdrawal of Fernando Alonso, their British team has shown that the AMR25 has evolved in a positive way.
The sixth place of Lance Stroll in Albert Park confirms that the improvements to the car have been successful. A more stable, predictable car, Aston Martin is a step ahead of the Williams, Sauber, Alpine and Racing Bulls teams, as well as Haas in the midfield battle.
Although Alonso came out of the last GP weekend somewhat disappointed, the Silverstone team is taking a more optimistic view of the upcoming races, confident that their progress will enable them to continue to gain points race after race.
An improved Aston Martin for 2025
AMR25 is a single-seater that comes with a number of improvements over the car that preceded it. According to the team’s own analysis, the car “is more manageable, predictable and stable”, allowing the drivers to squeeze its potential to the maximum.
Aerodynamics has been one of the most important aspects of this evolution, as more than 90% of the car’s surfaces have been reconfigured, with notable changes to the front and rear wings (which should be significant), the pontoons, the engine cover and the floor. All these variations have led to greater refinement and agility of the car on the track.
Given the excellent balance of the car, the AMR25 has proved more stable in changing conditions. We could see how much it improved in Australia and how, thanks to this, Lance Stroll was able to take advantage of the chaos in the race to finish in sixth position.
Alonso’s mistake and Stroll’s strategy
Fernando Alonso had a few days at the Australian Grand Prix that he would rather forget. The first of his mistakes took place on Saturday, in qualifying, when, after losing control of his car in Q2, the flat bottom was damaged and this prevented him from advancing to Q3.
The Asturian driver, already in the race, when fighting for ninth place, made a traction error in the AMR25 and crashed into the wall, thus ending his participation. However, Aston Martin, through Stroll, who made use of the rain and a good strategy, saved the weekend by finishing in the points.
The team’s CEO, Andy Cowell, praised Stroll’s actions and the quality of the good decision-making of the team itself with the strategy. Despite recognising that their midfield is very tight, they are also convinced that they will be able to continue to evolve in the upcoming races.
Consolidating their position as the best of the midfield
With the results in Australia, Aston Martin has made it clear that it is looking to remain the fifth best team on the grid. They seem to be ahead of Williams, Sauber, Alpine, Racing Bulls and Haas, but they are aware that the fight in the middle will be fierce until the end of the season.
The Chinese Grand Prix will be the next challenge, a circuit where Alonso and the British team are confident of returning to the front row as they did last year. “The car has done a great job; they are much more competitive than last year; the team has improved a lot in race management to keep scoring points and fighting in this midfield area,” Aston Martin said.