Fernando Alonso’s patience at Aston Martin will be rewarded, believes a leading pundit, with the Silverstone-based squad tipped to come good in F1 2025.

The Spaniard is without a Grand Prix win since 2013, but came close on a few occasions in F1 2023 before Aston Martin’s form crumbled away last season – but key moves over the past 12 months have positioned the British team for a stronger season.

Fernando Alonso tipped for first win since 2013

Alonso’s most recent Grand Prix win was in 2013, when he raced for Ferrari, with a long spell at McLaren yielding little by way of results before the Spaniard took a two-year sabbatical from Formula 1.

Rejoining in 2021 with Alpine, two years of solid points results saw him move across into the Aston Martin team and, for once, good timing was on Alonso’s side as the British team started the year strongly with the AMR23.

Alonso took multiple podiums throughout F1 2023 and was a challenger for outright victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, but that return to the top step of the podium continued to evade him.

In 2024, Aston Martin’s form took a dip as the AMR24 was a less competitive beast, meaning there was no chance of Alonso repeating any of his heroics from the previous season.

But F1 2024 was a year of purpose for Aston Martin, who signed several prominent names to its technical roster. These include former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell, who has become Group CEO, former Ferrari chassis technical director Enrico Cardile, who becomes chief technical officer, and former Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey, who becomes managing technical partner in a far-reaching role.

Alongside the huge infrastructure changes at Aston Martin’s Silverstone base, including the commissioning of a new wind tunnel and simulator, the impact of all of these will be enough to return Alonso to the podium, believes Lawrence Barretto, journalist for the official Formula 1 website.

“The 2024 season was a chastening one for Fernando Alonso,” he wrote in his predictions for the F1 2025 season.

“The double world champion entered the year with so much hope after a season that yielded eight podiums but instead he found himself with an unpredictable Aston Martin car that never really looked like it was capable of bringing home any silverware.

“Billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll won’t tolerate that kind of form for long, though, especially as he’s pumping so much money into the team – so I expect a new-look management team that is headed by former Mercedes boss Andy Cowell and which will feature Ferrari’s Enrico Cardile and design genius Adrian Newey to step it up in 2025.

“Contending for race wins or even podiums regularly will be a big ask, but they should make enough of a step that on the right weekend, the stars will align to give double world champion Alonso the chance to show he’s still got it at 43-years-old and secure a first win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.”

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Fernando Alonso: A privilege to work with Adrian Newey

Alonso has long made clear his admiration of Newey’s contributions to building championship-winning cars, with the Spaniard having been beaten by Newey’s Red Bull creations during title battles with Sebastian Vettel over a decade ago.

Speaking after the announcement of Newey’s pending arrival at Aston Martin after making clear his intent to leave Red Bull, Alonso revealed he had texted Newey in hopes of further persuading the famed designer to come to Aston Martin.

“I was hoping Adrian would join when he decided to stop with his previous team,” Alonso said. “To start with, you dream that it can be a possibility.

“There were a couple of rumours that he was joining different teams and I was asking Lawrence [Stroll], I was asking Martin Whitmarsh, I was asking various people in the team if we had contacted Adrian.

“I even ended up contacting him. I have his phone number and texted him: ‘What a surprise. If you ever think you would like a new challenge, I would love to work with you one day.’

“And I then found out that Adrian and Lawrence were in contact. Lawrence kept me up to date on negotiations. When Adrian decided to join, I was extremely happy but also extremely proud – proud that he wanted to work with us and that he believed in our project.

“It also shows what Lawrence can do – only Lawrence can do certain things. There is no limit to his passion for motorsport and his vision for Aston Martin Aramco. I’ve never seen anything like it – someone so determined, so passionate. He’s an inspiration to all of us in the team. It’s a privilege to work with him.”

With Alonso starting the F1 2025 season chasing that elusive first win since 2013, it may take some time for Newey’s influence to be felt on the Aston Martin – but the two-time F1 World Champion is hopeful he’ll still be racing by the time that infl

Alonso will team up with Newey next March chasing his first Grand Prix win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. He’s hoping that he’ll still be on the grid when Newey’s influence is felt on the Aston Martin.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about that,” said the double World Championship.

“Adrian will arrive in March next year and dedicate his time to 2026 so let’s see how I feel at the end of ’26 and if I can keep going: it will be a decision that we make together as a team, with Lawrence, with Adrian.

“For me, it’s an incredible opportunity because driving one of Adrian’s F1 cars is something very special, but also because when you work with people of Adrian’s calibre there is so much that you can learn from them. It’s hugely rewarding.”

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