Lance Stroll was among several standout performers at the 2025 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Aston Martin are looking to improve on 2024 this season after regressing in performance compared to 2023. Early indications from pre-season suggest that may be difficult.
Ted Kravitz felt Aston Martin were the ninth-quickest in pre-season testing in Bahrain. The AMR25 did not look like much of an improvement on its predecessor in Sakhir.
It was therefore not surprising to see Fernando Alonso and Stroll be eliminated in Q2 in the Australian Grand Prix. The former aborted his first run after he ran across the gravel, putting his car P12 late on.
The latter was just 30 thousandths of a second behind Alonso in 13th. Aston Martin would have been optimistic about points in the rain-soaked race – and that is exactly what they got as Stroll finished an impressive sixth.
Fernando Alonso congratulates Lance Stroll for ‘excellent job’ at the Australian Grand Prix
Alonso was running ahead of Kimi Antonelli in 10th at the halfway point of the race when he clipped the gravel trap at turn seven and spun into the wall. The Spaniard brought out the safety car as his ARM25 needed to be clear from the circuit.
Stroll had bene running outside of the points for much of the race. As the track dried and drivers switched to slick tyres, class three rain hit Albert Park for a short period.
Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto brought out the safety car again when they were caught out at turn two and 13 respectively. While Ferrari and Yuki Tsunoda gambled on dry tyres, the rest of the field – including Stroll – switched back to inters.
This proved the right call and the Canadian moved himself up to P6. He kept his Aston Martin out of the walls to bring home eight points for the Silverstone-based outfit to kick off 2025.
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Posting on his Instagram account, Stroll wrote that the team had ‘made the most’ from the tricky conditions. In the comments, teammate Alonso congratulated the Canadian for his performance.
He wrote: “Well done mate! Excellent job! Vamossss”
Andy Cowell wants to see a behaviour change from Fernando Alonso
It will be key for Aston Martin to show consistency after Stroll’s performance in Melbourne. However, the feeling within the team over the winter has not been encouraging.
Aston Martin staff looked miserable after testing in Bahrain as the car showed little performance. The negative feeling appears to be felt by their star driver too.
Suggestions in the paddock say Alonso is ‘not pleased’ with his 2025 car. The Spaniard has made his frustrations with his machinery clear in the past and he will hope the team will turn a corner come the new regulations in 2026.
CEO Andy Cowell has told Alonso to air his grievances in private, calling for him to speak to him directly to fix his issues. Under Adrian Newey’s guidance, the two-time champion will hope he can fight at the front in 2026 but David Coulthard thinks Alonso needs ‘magic’ to win another title.
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