Aston Martin “not giving up” on F1 2025 despite tough start to new season
Aston Martin will not divert all its attention to 2026.
Lance Stroll has stressed Aston Martin will not ‘give up’ on the 2025 Formula 1 season, despite a major regulation change scheduled for next year.
Aston Martin failed to score a single point during the Japan-Bahrain-Saudi Arabia triple header, with the trio of races exposing the inherent weaknesses of the AMR25.
While the Silverstone-based squad still holds seventh place in the constructors’ standings after Jeddah thanks to Stroll’s early heroics in Australia and China, teammate Fernando Alonso recently warned that he may not be able to score a point this season.
Next year is going to mark the start of a new era for Aston Martin, with star recruit Adrian Newey taking over the design of the car and Honda supplying the team with factory-spec engines.
But while 2026 remains an important focus for the team, Stroll said it is not willing to write off this season yet.
“We’re not where we want to be. The year is still young. We’re going to do what we can,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.
“For sure, next year is a big rule change, and we need to be focused on that. But we’re not quitting. We’re not giving up the year yet. We’re going to try and do what we can.
“Is it going to be enough to, you know, get ahead of the midfield and all those things? We’ll see. But we still have an opportunity to bring something so we’ll do what we can.
“I don’t think we have a target. We want to be a lot more competitive than we are at this point. It’s just about bringing as much performance as we can for the remainder of the year, and see how much it brings.
“That’s all we can focus on. Just bring what we can. We have some ideas for the coming races. We need to improve in all areas, so that’s clear.”
During a purple patch for Aston Martin at the start of the 2023 season, Alonso and Stroll qualified third and sixth respectively for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Alonso went on to finish on the podium, behind Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, while Stroll also ran strongly before retiring from the race with engine troubles.
Stroll admitted that the decline in Aston’s performance over the last two years has been quite stark, but feels such changes in the pecking order are a part and parcel of F1.
“You know, you have years where it’s more difficult than other years and years, you have good cars and you’re always fighting,” he said.
“I think two years ago, when we were here, after Lap 1, we were first and third or fourth or something, and I was fighting for a podium spot before the engine failed.
“Then, two years later, you’re fighting for 16th. But that’s the nature of Formula 1. So you have to always give it your all, keep pushing, and things change quickly.”
Asked what is the root cause of Aston Martin’s slump, Stroll said: “I think if we had the answer to that question, I don’t think we’d be where we are today.”
