Aston Martin is not going through a great period, especially after finishing fifth in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship. During the winter break, several key leadership changes took place, most notably involving team principal Mike Krack. As Alonso looks forward to getting back on track, he is tempering expectations for Aston Martin and its potential in the upcoming season.
The team has been making significant investments to establish itself as a leading force in the future. A new facility has been developed to build the 2025 and 2026 cars entirely in-house, including a state-of-the-art wind tunnel and simulator.
However, these new tools must be fine-tuned carefully to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2024, when upgrades failed to deliver the expected performance gains. That’s why the wind tunnel is now in its final calibration phase, ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain, where the team will assess data accuracy. Despite the major technical efforts to turn things around, Alonso remains doubtful about 2025, particularly after witnessing the performance gap between Aston Martin and McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes at the end of 2024. A gap that seems almost impossible to close in just one winter.
“In 2025, we won’t have the potential to win,” Alonso said in a recent interview. “The cars will be the same as last year, and making such a big leap forward will be practically impossible for us. We hope to do better than in 2024, but we won’t be winning the championship.”
Instead, the focus is shifting toward the next regulatory cycle, where Adrian Newey will play a key role, starting his work at Aston Martin in April.
“There will be major regulation changes, and Adrian Newey will begin working on the 2026 project in April. I hope we can get more podiums, some wins, and fight for the championship. But I know 2026 is a big unknown for everyone. We hope it will work in our favor, but we don’t know,” Alonso commented on Aston Martin’s future.
2026 will also mark the arrival of a new Power Unit supplied by Honda, with Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe expressing concerns about the project.
Leave a Reply