Lance Stroll stayed out of trouble and executed a solid race to claim P6 in Australia. His result secured crucial points for Aston Martin, especially since Fernando Alonso spun into the wall – falling victim to gravel that was pushed out on track.
Owing to the conditions on race day, assessing the AM25’s actual pace is difficult.
According to team principal Andy Cowell, however, there are reasons for Aston Martin to be cautiously optimistic.
Aston Martin show flashes of pace in Melbourne
The early stages of qualifying were promising for Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso setting one of the best times Q1.
Unfortunately for the British squad, Alonso suffered floor damage at the beginning of Q2 – costing him performance and preventing him from reaching the final stage.
Although extrapolating from such a small sample size is difficult, the AMR25 looks more competitive than many suspected after testing.
Alonso was certainly being held up by Gasly on Sunday – though his crash obviously makes it difficult to draw conclusions.
Regardless, Aston appear in a far less precarious position than some outlets reported after pre-season.
The team confirmed the AMR25’s progress in Melbourne, both in terms of performance and drivability.
Moreover, Aston Martin have not been mentioned as a team likely to suffer from the FIA’s incoming technical directive (to be implemented this weekend).
Andy Cowell outlines the roadmap for Aston
At this stage last year, the Silverstone-based squad were actually in a strong position.
Only a few tenths separated Alonso from Pole Position in Jeddah and China – in an AMR24 that was competitive in qualifying.
It was the team’s long-run pace that created concern, before an upgrade package in Imola derailed Aston Martin’s campaign.
Because of this, establishing a strong foundation for 2025 is crucial.
Speaking after the chequered flag in Melbourne, team principal Aston Martin discussed the developments in the pipeline:
“We have upgrades we are currently working on,” he told as.com.
“We all have limitations in the CFS, wind tunnel and wind tunnel.
“So it’s a challenge to decide where to focus on to develop the car.”
Like every other team, Aston Martin must balance their 2026 development with this season.
Considering the gap to the front-runners, Aston are likely to focus on next set of regulations.
Adrian Newey has concentrated on the 2026 project since arriving at the factory in early March.
Still, this does not mean some improvements – albeit in a limited capacity – won’t arrive in the next few months:
“We do a mix,” Cowell continued.
“From Monday I’ll be in the factory to talk about the areas where we will focus on to find the most potential.
“Whether it’s development, reliability or procedural issues, there are details we can improve…
“Our feet are on the ground, we are working to find solutions. In Q1 we did good sectors, and later in Q2 – less so. We have to find out way.
“Fernando’s pace in the five laps before the crash was very competitive, until the point we decided to push.
“So there is potential in the car.”
