After a promising rise in 2023 and a strong opening to 2024, the Aston Martin Formula 1 team has plunged into what can only be described as a full-blown crisis. With Fernando Alonso still sitting on zero points after the first five races of the 2025 season, the team has reportedly held an emergency meeting to address the mounting pressure and underwhelming performance.
From Contender to Confused
What began as a story of redemption, Alonso defying his age and Aston Martin punching above its weight, has quickly unraveled. According to multiple reports, the team held a crisis meeting at their Silverstone HQ following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Senior leadership, engineers, and both drivers were involved.
What’s most concerning isn’t just the results: it’s the lack of correlation between what the team sees in simulation and what’s happening on track. The AMR25, by several accounts, has become fundamentally unpredictable.
Looking at the data, the car appears to suffer from rear-end instability, particularly under braking and in low-speed corners. That’s compounded by one of the weakest DRS effects on the grid, leaving both drivers exposed during battles.
In short: this isn’t just a slow car. It’s a car they don’t understand.
The 20-Year Streak in Jeopardy
Alonso has scored at least one point in every Formula 1 season since his debut in 2001, a streak that spans two decades, multiple regulation eras, and several backmarker cars. As of now, that run is at serious risk of ending.
It’s not just the optics. Internally, Alonso has reportedly expressed that the AMR25 may be “unfixable” without a radical redesign, an alarming statement from a driver known for adapting to difficult machinery.
The irony? Alonso has driven some absolute dogs in his career, the 2015 McLaren-Honda comes to mind, and still found ways to drag them into point-scoring contention. That he’s failing to do so now is telling.
2025 So Far: A Pattern of Decline
Here’s how Aston Martin’s campaign has unfolded:
- Australian GP: Alonso retired (DNF), Stroll P8 (4 pts)
- Chinese GP: Alonso P10 (1 pt), Stroll P9 (2 pts)
- Japanese GP: Alonso P11, Stroll P20
- Bahrain GP: Alonso P15, Stroll P17
- Saudi GP: Alonso P11, Stroll P16
That’s 7 points total for the team after five rounds, none of them from the veteran Spaniard. What’s more, they’ve failed to score in three consecutive races. It’s not a slump. It’s a trend.
Copy-Paste Car, Broken Formula
The development path of the AMR25 feels oddly regressive, less evolution, more copy-paste. While other midfield teams have brought innovation and sharp upgrades into 2025 (notably Williams and Sauber-Honda), Aston’s package feels like a remix of old concepts with none of the sharpness.
Upgrades are arriving, but they’re missing the mark. There’s a growing sense that Aston Martin’s entire technical philosophy may be flawed. Internally, Mike Krack is said to be frustrated by the delta between wind tunnel data and on-track behavior.
It’s a reminder that Formula 1 doesn’t reward conservatism, especially when the midfield is this tight.
Internal Pressure Mounts
Team owner Lawrence Stroll is rumored to be considering major structural changes, even exploring the possibility of taking the team private. There’s frustration, not just from a performance standpoint, but from a brand and business perspective. This was supposed to be the season Aston Martin cemented itself as a regular top-five team, not a case study in stagnation.
And then there’s the driver situation. Lance Stroll continues to underdeliver relative to Alonso, which makes performance assessments harder and tensions higher.
What’s Next?
The triple header after Miami (Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona), will determine the rest of Aston Martin’s season. These circuits reward balance, downforce, and tire management: three areas where the AMR25 has shown consistent weakness.
If the team fails to find performance by Monaco, the narrative may shift from “Can they recover?” to “How deep does the rot go?”
There’s even growing speculation that Alonso could walk away mid-season if improvements don’t materialize. And if that happens, it’ll be less of a retirement and more of a statement.
Final Thoughts
Aston Martin was once the fairy tale of 2023, punching above their weight, upsetting the order, reviving Alonso’s career. Now, they risk becoming the cautionary tale of 2025.
The car is flawed. The strategy seems confused. And the clock is ticking.