Fernando Alonso struggling after Aston Martin ‘focused too much’ on one part of 2025 F1 car

Fernando Alonso has endured his worst start to a Formula 1 season since 2017, with the Aston Martin ace yet to secure a single point after rounds in Australia and China.

Back-to-back retirements at the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix, where he came 10th in the Sprint, leave Alonso rooted to last place in the F1 drivers’ championship. It is the Spaniard’s worst start since enduring the same outcomes for McLaren eight years ago.

Alonso also failed to finish the first race of an F1 season for the first time since 2021 with his crash on Lap 34/57 in Melbourne. The 43-year-old lost control of his Aston Martin riding the kerb at Turn 6 and span into the barrier. A brake failure also saw Alonso retire on L4 in China.

Aston Martin focused ‘too much’ on fixing their rear tyre usage with their 2025 F1 car

Alonso was running outside of the points when he retired from the Chinese GP, having only qualified in P13. Twelfth place was also all the Oviedo native could manage in qualifying for the Australian GP, where he crashed out of the race whilst running in 10th place in the wet.

Ferrari’s double disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix meant Aston Martin left with two points, though, as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s woes promoted Lance Stroll into P9. Yet Aston Martin are still only seventh in the teams’ standings, having been fifth last season.

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The Silverstone squad finished last term in no man’s land, with Mercedes 374 points clear in P4 and Alpine 29 points behind in P6. But Aston Martin have fallen backwards at the start of 2025 and Auto Motor und Sport reports their problems in China lay with a strategic mistake.

After struggling to remain competitive throughout the 2024 season, Aston Martin ‘focused too much’ on trying to improve their rear tyre usage with their 2025 F1 car. But the issue in Shanghai was front tyre graining due to the circuit’s long-radius corners reducing grip levels.

Fernando Alonso needs P13 or higher in Japan to end his worst start since F1 2017

Alonso will hope Aston Martin got enough data in China to respond in Japan. Just taking the chequered flag at Suzuka will prevent the Spaniard from continuing to match his worst start since 2017, when he was classified in P14 for round three in Bahrain after a late retirement.

Such has been the 2005 and 2006 champion’s plight that Rene Arnoux now claims Alonso is ‘at the end’ of his F1 career, having seen teammate Stroll offer more of a challenge at Aston Martin. Stroll sits eighth in the standings with 10 points after P6 in Australia and P9 in China.

CEO and team principal Andy Cowell also recently claimed that Stroll has noticed aspects of Aston Martin’s 2025 F1 car that Alonso missed. It has helped the 26-year-old enjoy his best-ever start to a year, after only scoring 24 points during last season compared to Alonso’s 70.