The Canadian Grand Prix looks set to be a tough one for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin. While the Spaniard’s confidence and ambition have skyrocketed following the improvements to the AMR25, the team could opt to focus more on the future and take a back seat in this and the next race. The Silverstone team is aiming for 2026 and should have no problem making certain sacrifices if it means gaining an advantage for next season, a dilemma that the team will have to resolve and which could be decisive for the evolution of the AMR26
Development of the AMR26
The change in regulations, together with Aston Martin’s enormous ambition for next season, mean that the team’s objectives are focused in one direction: 2026. Although the team wants to finish the current season well, the results are no longer important, and it is more a matter of confidence to finish well than of improving in the remainder of the season.
The updates to the AMR25 are designed to work on next year’s car, and now the team has managed to take a step forward, and there will be another one at the Silverstone Grand Prix, where they hope the team can position itself at the front of the midfield, but we insist, everything is with a view to 2026, the result of this season matters little, beyond showing that things are on track for next season.
Fernando Alonso wants more
Fernando Alonso has been the one who has suffered firsthand from the poor performance of the AMR25 at the beginning of the year. Giving his all on the track—he doesn’t know how to drive any other way—to qualify in Q2 and not leave the team in the last positions on the grid, with the latest improvements he is “having fun,” fighting to be in Q3 and fighting for points, and Canada is a circuit that suits the car, at least more than the previous ones.
The Oviedo native knows that the new updates, pending the arrival of the final package at Silverstone (which will be the last of the season, as we were able to confirm at Grada3), have more potential and can be squeezed for more to gain an advantage over his rivals. That’s why he asked the team to make an effort for this new race, but Aston Martin may have other plans.
Aston Martin and the FIA regulations
Aston Martin could “throw away” the next two races of the season, both in Canada and Austria. The team is not interested in taking any points or scoring less than Sauber. The explanation is logical, really. The FIA gives more wind tunnel hours to the worst teams on the grid, and the two worst-placed teams in the constructors’ standings get more hours than anyone else. The Silverstone team is now second to last, tied with Sauber and ahead of Alpine. If this classification does not change before June 30—with the Canadian and Austrian races in between—the British team would gain a significant advantage in the wind tunnel for next season, a great opportunity to increase their options in the development of the AMR26.
The team will have to make an important decision about what to do and how it might influence its main objectives, which are set for 2026. Those hours of wind could be the difference, but the team could choose to see what happens on the track, because even if they manage to improve their standings, they would still have an advantage over what they expect to be their rivals next year, the big guns of the Grand Circus. The hours in the wind tunnel are important and very valuable, but so are good results on the track, and they will have to decide which is the best option.