The circuit puts everyone in their place, and that is the reality for Aston Martin after the first two races of the season. We have had two very different races at the start of the campaign, one in the rain and one in the dry, one on a street circuit and the other on a more traditional one, and the initial assessments are not positive for Silverstone.
Aston Martin and the constructors’ championship
If we look exclusively at the constructors’ standings, Aston Martin is in seventh place, thanks to the 10 points scored by Lance Stroll in Australia in rainy conditions. The two midfield teams above them are Haas and Williams. The case of Haas is surprising because of the leap they have made this season, and we will have to see if they are capable of maintaining the team’s great start, having managed to score 14 points in the first two grands prix. However, Williams does seem to be really ahead of Aston Martin. Alex Albon managed to get the FW47 into the points in the first two races, and Carlos Sainz, still struggling to adapt, also scored his first point in China after the disqualification of Ferrari and Alpine. They seem to have taken an important step forward for 2025.
The reality of the AMR25
However, at Aston Martin they know that the reality of the team is worse than the standings suggest. In addition to Haas and Williams, Alpine (which has not scored any points) seems to be above them. The French team was unable to read the track conditions in Australia when the rain started, in a race where they were assured of points. Something that Lance Stroll took advantage of, scoring the only points of the season in a race they had written off with the retirement of Alonso (who did have a chance of scoring before he retired). And in China, Alpine finished in the points again, but the team was disqualified, leaving them with zero points. But the reality is that they are a step behind these three teams, judging by the performance of the first two races.
Mike Krack, chief operating officer of the Aston Martin team, acknowledged after the China race that “It hasn’t been a good race performance. In the Bahrain tests we knew we wouldn’t be good. In Melbourne we confirmed it, although it was circumstantial due to the conditions of the race and it was a question of making the right decisions, finishing and not making mistakes. When we got to China, in the sprint classification and the sprint we did a little better, but now we see that we are in the middle of the middle zone, although it is quite tight”
Mike Krack could have suspected Williams and Alpine, but not Haas, which has taken everyone by surprise. “The Haas were very strong. In qualifying everything is very tight and the order depends more on the balance of the car and whether you make a mistake. In the race we see the real order. In Melbourne it was difficult, here we have a clearer picture. Because Saturday’s race was marked by graining, but with Sunday’s we have a clearer perspective to do our analysis better. And they are probably the ones leading the midfield”.
Optimism for the next races
However, Aston Martin is optimistic about the next races. Mike Krack hopes that the team can take a step forward in a short time. “There are parts on the way, we have to see when they are ready. Now we are going to Japan and we will see how we do there. But yes, the wind tunnel is working,” he confirms optimistically.
With a frustrating start to the season, Aston Martin hopes that the improvements will help the car in the upcoming races, although the new package does not seem to be available until the next race in Italy on May 18th.