Fernando Alonso wants the current Aston Martin to improve, but he is aware that the focus is on 2026, and he does not want resources to be spent on a season in which the team has nothing at stake. This was revealed by Andy Cowell, Aston Martin’s boss, who understands the Asturian’s demands. For his part, Fernando Alonso has also confirmed that, although they have identified errors in the AMR25, the team will have to live with them until the end of the current season, but some aspects could be improved.
A challenge for 2026
Andy Cowell spoke to the media ahead of the Canadian F1 Grand Prix and once again emphasized the great challenge posed by the new regulations and the short time available for 2026, when everything must be ready by the end of January for the first tests ahead of the new season.
The development of the AMR26 has slowed down any progress for this season. Although there have been improvements, and there are still some to come, work is no longer being done this season, although they will continue to test things that can improve performance, but always with a view to optimizing next year’s parts.
“It’s difficult and it’s a challenge we face every day. Every day we have to decide whether to push technological development forward, whether it can be tested in a race with this year’s car and give us more chances to score points, and whether that will also help for 2026, 2027, 2028. Or do we put technological development aside and focus only on improving processes and tools?” But “what we are investing in is our medium- and long-term performance. We are not going to chase short-term gains.”
Fernando Alonso moves on from the AMR25
Fernando Alonso himself, who during many phases of the season has asked the team to make an effort in 2025, is against spending resources this season. Once the car has improved and they can avoid embarrassment, he doesn’t want a single second spent working on this season. This is confirmed by Cowell:
“Every time I talk to Fernando about this year’s car, he gives me that intense look that says, ‘You’re not compromising next year, are you?’. He looks me in the eyes to check. I tell him, ‘No, no, no, this helps for next year’.”
Fernando Alonso confirms the objectives
Fernando Alonso himself has confirmed that the team must focus on 2026 and that, if any improvements are made this year, which there are, they will not affect the work for next season. He acknowledges that they have identified certain weaknesses in the AMR25, which they will try to resolve, but without wasting time.
“I think we understood it and now we know the problem with the car. Obviously, we can’t focus too much on solving it because we also have to think about the future, about 2026 and things like that. Even if it’s too late, we’ll probably try to have a better second half of the year.
“I think there are, again, a couple of ideas to improve this year’s car without compromising time for next year. There are a couple of complications with the 2025 car that we will have to keep until the end of the year.”
Aston Martin fell behind in its restructuring, which affected the development of the AMR25 and also the AMR26, as Adrian Newey revealed a few days ago. The new factory, the new technology, the new engineers and staff… it’s been a big change, a big investment, and they haven’t been able to meet the deadlines. But they can still get back on track.