Alex Brundle suspects one F1 team have already ‘checked out’ of the 2025 season after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix confirmed Oscar Piastri as a serious title contender in 2025. The Aussie claimed his third win in five in Jeddah.

Piastri beat Max Verstappen by just under three seconds to take victory in Jeddah. The Dutchman had started on pole position, but Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty after cutting turn two and gaining an advantage.

The Red Bull driver did not hand the position back until the pit stops, with Piastri controlling the race from there. Charles Leclerc locked out the podium for Ferrari, securing the team their first top three finish of the season – excluding Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint win in China.

Piastri’s victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sees him take the lead in the drivers’ championship, leapfrogging teammate Lando Norris after he crashed in Q3. The Brit recovered to finish fourth, but it is clear he has ground to make up on his McLaren counterpart.

The top four teams locked out the top seven positions – minus Yuki Tsunoda who crashed after the first few corners with Pierre Gasly. Williams were the best of the rest in eighth and ninth as their rivals struggled to catch up in Jeddah.

Alex Brundle suspects Aston Martin have ‘checked out’ in 2025 after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Saudi Arabia was another miserable weekend for Aston Martin as they came away with no points. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were again off the pace, with the latter being eliminated in Q1.

Alonso said reaching Q2 was a ‘miracle’ as he lined up 13th on the grid. The Spaniard is yet to score in 2025 after finishing P11, marking his worst start to a season since 2015.

Aston Martin do have an exciting project for the future at Silverstone with Adrian Newey and Honda on board for 2026. But after scoring just 10 points through Stroll after five races, Alex Brundle suspects they have already ‘checked out’ on 2025.

“I get the sense that they’ve checked out from the season already. You look at it and you’ve got Adrian Newey standing in Silverstone, penning a 2026 car,” he said via F1 Nation.

“One of the teams that will have an engine change into next year as well, so they move to a Honda engine. It’s a massive job.

“Making a new gearbox, and I don’t know. You just look at where they are in the championship, they’ve been some points for Lance. I don’t know, maybe that’s unfair to say and maybe they’ll bring some upgrades and come back to it, but it’s not looking great.”

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

Aston Martin are focusing their attention on 2026 – they want Max Verstappen

Alonso has been noticeably struggling with the AMR25. Aston Martin have an ‘abysmal’ traction problem that ‘no one’ expected to be so poor in 2025.

Stroll’s impressive P6 in Melbourne is starting to feel more fortunate with every race weekend. Aston Martin and Alonso will be desperate to find improvements in the new era of regulations next season.

However, the Silverstone squad’s project may be done without the 43-year-old. Verstappen has been heavily linked with the team amid uncertainty surrounding his future at Red Bull.

Aston Martin have offered a five-year deal to Verstappen worth up to £206m per season as they look to do everything they can to attract the Dutchman. It will leave them with a decision to make about their current driver pairing.

Alonso says it is ‘unlikely’ he will be Verstappen’s teammate if he decides to join Aston Martin. The Spaniard is contracted until 2026, which is likely to be his last contract in F1.