Bernie Collins tells Aston Martin the ‘first thing’ they have to do this season after Adrian Newey’s arrival

Aston Martin might not be delighted with their progress over the last two seasons but have had a much more positive beginning to the 2025 campaign than many expected.

Ted Kravitz suggested Aston Martin could be the ninth-fastest team this season after a poor showing in testing.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll didn’t have the smoothest three days in Bahrain with Aston Martin staff not looking happy after testing due to their struggles on the track.

However, there are reasons to be positive about the future of Lawrence Stroll’s team given the huge amount of investment he’s put into Aston Martin.

Aston Martin have built a state-of-the-art new factory with their own wind tunnel now operational having previously shared Mercedes’ facility.

Adrian Newey has also started work at Aston Martin after nearly two decades with Red Bull and team principal Andy Cowell has suggested Newey’s already working on their 2026 car.

Sky Sports F1 pundit and strategist Bernie Collins has analysed how Aston Martin have started the season on The F1 Show and the next steps they now need to take.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Bernie Collins tells Aston Martin the ‘first thing’ they must do after signing Adrian Newey

Collins was asked to assess Aston Martin’s performance at the Australian Grand Prix and said: “I think [it was] a stronger weekend for Aston Martin than we expected post-testing for sure, even qualifying was stronger.

“But in the race, just keeping the decisions straightforward, not taking any risks, getting some good points on the board.

“I think, those points will be really beneficial as we get into the next few rounds. So nice clean weekend for them was good.”

Collins – who used to work at Aston Martin as a race strategist – was asked what she had heard from her old team about their progress this season and whether they’re simply focused on 2026 after Newey’s arrival.

She said: “I’ve not actually heard anything!

“But what I expect is, they’ve got to figure out why their upgrades last year weren’t working and that’s the first thing they need to work on.

“So, they need to start to put some things on the car, make sure their aero tools are working correctly, [the] wind tunnel is going to come online at some point.

“So, they need to start working on that base in order to build next year’s car.

“And he’ll [Newey] be straight onto that, so definitely, I think he will have an influence on both cars.”

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin managing technical partner Adrian Newey

Lance Stroll takes the pressure off Fernando Alonso after rare Australian Grand Prix error

Aston Martin currently sit fifth in the constructors’ championship after the first race thanks to Stroll’s brilliant P6 finish in Melbourne.

After 11 consecutive Grand Prix without scoring a point, the Canadian brought that barren spell to an end when Alonso made an unexpected error, crashing into the barriers after being caught out going through turn seven.

An unfortunate moment for Fernando Alonso, crashing out of the Grand Prix 😱#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Jt6dtSZInl

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025

Alonso was delighted for Stroll after capitalising on the treacherous conditions and pitting at the right time during the final downpour.

The Spaniard will expect to overtake his teammate in the championship at some point this year, but Stroll has given himself a decent head start.

Not only that, but Newey has been taken by surprise by Stroll due to his work behind the scenes within the team and that positively can only be a good thing for Aston Martin going forward.