The early stages of the Formula 1 season are always important for teams as they try to get the lay of the competitive landscape.
Last season it was Red Bull that led the pack in the first races, but after Lando Norris’ win in Miami the competitive landscape changed and they were in the hunt. Mercedes also made a breakthrough with their car design, which put them back in the running for victories as both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton won two a piece.
For a while, it looked like there were at least four teams in the running for victories, especially as Ferrari made inroads with their car and took victories at Melbourne and Monaco with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
One team that struggled from offset was Aston Martin, who could not replicate their form from 2023 when they took eight podiums with Fernando Alonso. There was a lot of tension between Aston Martin engineers and owner Lawrence Stroll, as pressure mounted to bring results on track.
Alonso has explained that they are taking a different approach for the 2025 season, knowing how it panned out for the other top teams last season when speaking at the recent F1 75 live press conference.
Fernando Alonso explains why Frederic Vasseur is wrong about how 2025 F1 season will pan out
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has previously told The Race that the competitive landscape is likely to be decided in the first races of 2025, however, Alonso does not think this is the case.
“I feel that the Bahrain tests and the first races will be less relevant than usual. In the last two years, I have seen that during the season,” said Alonso.
“Before, it seemed that starting the year well guaranteed you continuity and in these last two years we have seen radical changes in McLaren in 2023, in Mercedes last year, [now] Haas….”
“If the team hits the key in race nine, the season is so long that until race 24 there is a lot to solve. So, I take it a little more calmly how to face the preseason and a good year for us means, at least, equalizing what we did last year. We were fifth in Constructors, I think we were not the fastest fifth at the end of the year and we have to return, at least, to those benefits throughout the year.”
Fernando Alonso’s main complaint with Aston Martin car might be fixed in 2025
Aston Martin was left in no man’s land in 2024 finishing as the fifth best car of the season, which was partially down to their development route.
The team effectively turned a lot of the final races of the season into experiments, with Alonso and Lance Stroll trying back-to-back floors in the races.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell
Alonso and Stroll both regularly raised complaints about the cornering stability of their AMR24, which the Spaniard added was a ‘fundamental’ issue they dealt with.
Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell is now confident that the team has fixed the stability problems they experienced with their 2025 car, after finishing 374 points behind Mercedes.
