Fernando Alonso is finally off the mark in the 2025 F1 season, after the Aston Martin driver scored his first points with ninth place in the Spanish Grand Prix last Sunday.
The 43-year-old had been enduring his worst campaign in a decade over the opening eight rounds. But Alonso broke his bleak beginning to the term on home soil, as the Oviedo native took the flag in P10 and he gained from Max Verstappen’s penalty for hitting George Russell.
Alonso had to dig deep after the safety car restart to keep within 10 seconds of the Red Bull star, which the Aston Martin driver only just achieved by 0.262s. The two-time F1 champion even took the restart in P13 and only passed Liam Lawson for P10 on the road on Lap 65/66.
Aston Martin are preparing a suspension upgrade for the 2025 British GP with the 2026 F1 regulations in mind
But the Spanish GP was not a totally joyous affair for Alonso, as MARCA reports he struggled for straight-line speed during the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He also left the Montmelo venue begging for ‘some more new parts’ to come after the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 2025 F1 season is on pause for a week after a European triple-header in Imola, Monaco and Spain before the Canadian GP on June 15. Another break will follow before the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on June 29 and British Grand Prix at Silverstone come July 6.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations
Aston Martin might answer Alonso’s pleas at the British GP, as well, as the Silverstone-based outfit intend to run upgrades at their literal home circuit. The upgrades could even include a suspension change which Aston Martin have designed with the 2026 F1 regulations in mind.
Silverstone will see the next instalment of Aston Martin’s project to make the AMR25 faster, with another step to come after the summer break. But they also want to use the upgrades as a chance to look ahead and hope their suspension change will work on next season’s car.
Aston Martin’s Silverstone upgrades could help overcome Adrian Newey’s simulator fears
Alonso’s car next term will be Aston Martin’s first machine which design guru Adrian Newey has truly influenced following his arrival from Red Bull in March. It will not be a fully-fledged Newey car, though, as Aston Martin could begin working on the 2026 regulations in January.
Verstappen questions what impact Newey will have on Aston Martin’s 2026 car, as well, with the Dutchman now primed to stay at Red Bull regardless of his exit clause. Aston Martin are interested in Verstappen, despite Alonso and Lance Stroll both being under contract in 2026.
Also, Newey fears Aston Martin’s simulator has correlation problems, which could even take two years to fix. So, if the suspension upgrade on the cards for the British GP pays off, it may put Aston Martin and Alonso on a stronger footing to start the 2026 F1 regulations strongly.
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