The step backwards for Aston Martin this season is clear: the AMR25 is struggling race after race to avoid being the worst car on the F1 grid. But if we compare the times of the AMR25 in Bahrain with those of the AMR24 and AMR23, we can see an alarming loss of pace that reflects badly on the team’s evolution.
A loss compared to last year
Aston Martin’s step backwards compared to past seasons at the Bahrain GP is clear to see, with almost two seconds difference if we compare last year’s classification with this year’s. A step backwards that all the teams have experienced due to the small adjustments to the regulations for this season. However, most teams are losing between 5 tenths and 1 second compared to last year. Aston Martin, however, is losing almost two seconds.
This step backwards is clear evidence of the poor work done at the Silverstone factory, where the team’s objective was to assemble a car that would move in the upper middle of the table, and which is now struggling not to be the worst team on the grid
Comparison of Aston Martin in Bahrain
In the year 2023, when Aston Martin surprised everyone with a car that achieved eight podiums, especially in the first races of the season, in the Bahrain GP qualifying, Fernando Alonso achieved a time of 1:30:336. Both the Spaniard and Lance Stroll made it into Q3.
Last year, Fernando Alonso’s time with the AMR24 improved by 0.8 seconds, stopping the clock at 1:29:542, and making it into Q3. Lance Stroll, on the other hand, could not get into the top ten and did not make it past Q2.
In this 2025 the step backwards has been alarming. While it is true that all the teams have worsened (with the time he set in 2024 he would have achieved pole this year), the loss of the AMR25 highlights the bad moment of the team. Last Saturday, Fernando Alonso managed to get the car into Q2, by a miracle, and it was impossible to reach Q3. The time set in this session was 1:31:634, that is to say, 2 seconds and 92 thousandths slower than the time set just one year ago. It is true that the track conditions were different, it is true that the variations in the regulations for this season have been detrimental to all the cars, but it is also true that the gap to Aston Martin is the biggest on the grid. Stroll was eliminated in Q1.
No hope for the next races
Aston Martin’s prospects do not look good for the next races. For this week, the car is expected to do better in Saudi Arabia, but the points now seem unattainable. For the Miami GP, the team may incorporate some updates, but it will be a sprint weekend and it will be difficult to find the best possible configuration. We will have to wait for the Italian GP, at the Imola circuit, for Aston Martin to receive the first major package of improvements, one of the few they will receive this year, and for the team to make a significant leap in the season. It won’t be easy for them to improve given what we have seen so far, but if they do, we might see an Aston Martin fighting for points.
Aston Martin is obliged to improve the car, it is obliged to step up. We are talking about a team that has made a significant investment to soon be among the best in F1, and these results are a disappointment for the team.