Aston Martin were anyways downbeat about how their 2025 season will pan out and now their problems seem to have compounded post an underwhelming pre-season testing showing. Although Fernando Alonso acknowledged that Aston Martin have made a “step forward” from last year, his testing was compromised after the team faced some issues.
Alonso may have driven a solid total of 173 laps during testing, but he was never able to get his race simulations in. He revealed during the team’s debrief that since they faced some issues and the weather was not ideal, it impacted their run plans.
With the temperatures much cooler in Bahrain than they usually are at this time of the year, not just Aston Martin but all teams struggled to understand what to make of their tests. So, it seems that the Silverstone-based outfit do not have much to worry about in terms of being on the back foot in this regard at least.
Another reason why Alonso is not concerned about their limited race simulations is that he believes the team have barely changed the AMR25 from its predecessor.
The read-between-the-lines hints from Fernando Alonso don’t sound good for Aston Martin’s start to the 2025 #F1 season:
➡️ https://t.co/F4ywa2NCRghttps://t.co/F4ywa2NCRg
— The Race (@wearetherace) March 2, 2025
“The car itself is basically the ’24 car, it’s only the outside and all the aerodynamic parts that did change a lot, for performance,” the Spaniard said, according to The Race.
“But let’s say the engines, radiators, driveshafts, suspension — everything is the same as ’24. So, we don’t need the normal race distances and so many laps like we will need next year”.
Only Alonso knows whether he was being sarcastic while saying that Aston haven’t changed anything on the car or he genuinely gave his feedback. The former McLaren driver never hesitates to give his honest opinion when he doesn’t get a benign and fast car.
However, with Aston Martin not changing much on the AMR25, it seems that they are willing to sacrifice the 2025 season by focusing on their 2026 car. Alonso ideally would also want the same.
Alonso ready to sacrifice 2025 for 2026
With legendary aerodynamicist Adrian Newey set to join Aston Martin officially on March 3, there is immense optimism surrounding the Silverstone-based side about their future prospects. RacingNews365 expert Ian Parkes revealed that Alonso told him during the pre-season interviews that he is ready to sacrifice the 2025 season and place all his bets on 2026 as he sees the “bigger picture”.
Alonso has explained on numerous occasions over the past year how the arrival of “the best engineers” and “the best designers” makes him optimistic about the 2026 season when the new regulations come into effect. However, Newey seems to have cautioned Alonso and all the other fans who seem to have sky-high expectations.
While speaking on the BBC F1: Back at Base podcast, the British aerodynamicist said he is “not making any predictions” about how competitive they will be in 2026. For him, the process is important and that will begin with him talking to both the drivers and his engineers to try and “bounce ideas off them”.
Although Newey is keen to dim expectations, it is unlikely to have any bearing on experts and fans alike, with many of them already hoping for a fairytale dream ending for Alonso — winning an elusive third title.
