Revealed: Aston Martin's F1 issue forcing Fernando Alonso to 'invent' overtakes
In Fernando Alonso's first Formula 1 season with Aston Martin, 2023, he claimed six podiums in the first eight races and was running third in the championship. The pickings have been more barren since then and in the Spanish Grand Prix – the ninth round of 2025 – he picked up his first points of the season.
Lance Stroll had scored all of Aston Martin's points until then – a humble 14, drawn from the first two rounds.
Advertisement
Read Also:
Adrian Newey: Lance Stroll is 'much better than people give him credit for'
Heads have already rolled in Aston's technical department last season and the AMR25 car has not started the season well, seeming to have a fundamental problem with race pace. Stroll's tendency to qualify poorly and then pick up positions partially masks a trend of the car being slower on Sundays than it is on Saturdays, though the only time this season he qualified inside the top 10 (at Imola) he finished 15th.
Alonso, though, has reached Q3 three times and only just got a return in the form of two points (and it would have been one but for Max Verstappen's penalty). A notable feature of the first and last rounds of this latest triple-header has been his tendency to overtake at unconventional points on the track, usually via a sneak attack.
Advertisement
'We lacked top speed, so on the straights we were losing a lot,' he said in Barcelona. 'I didn't make a single overtake under DRS. They were all made in Turn 3 on the outside, which is not a normal place to overtake, but we have to invent these kinds of moves.
'Also in Imola I was out of Turn 7 when I made three overtaking [moves] in the last few laps. So we need to solve this situation and start overtaking on the straight with the DRS like everyone [else] does.'
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
'We need to improve a little bit our straightline speed and also the [tyre] degradation. As I said, Saturdays are quite competitive and Sundays we seem to take a step back.
Advertisement
'So happy for today for sure, first points, good Safety Car at the end, good timing and things. But if we go back on Thursday and we redo the weekend, we need to change something on the car to be a little bit more Sunday-biased than Saturday-.'
Alonso can be relied upon to highlight his own contributions to a result with the enthusiasm of a carnival barker. But both he and chief trackside officer Mike Krack alluded to the car being under-balanced, with too much understeer.
It's common for teams to set up their cars to have an understeer balance at circuits such as Barcelona because the rear axle is the critical one, and some understeer can help protect the rear tyres. But when asked by Motorsport.com if the problem was caused by dialling in too much understeer, Alonso's answer was an unequivocal 'no'.
Among Aston's challenges last year was that most of the performance upgrades added to the car didn't generate the expected result. While the AMR25 is the product of the previous design leadership, at Imola a new floor and bodywork package represented the first definitive output of the latest regime and the new wind tunnel.
Advertisement
It was never going to be worth half a second a lap, but CEO and team principal Andy Cowell talked about it in terms of a lab experiment to enable to stress-test its tools and procedures.
What's becoming apparent is that the car has a weak front end – i.e. understeery – but it isn't doing a great job of thermally managing its rear tyres either, and at the same time it is relatively drag-inefficient. The combination of slow straightline speed and indifferent tyre management is a killer on Sundays.
Lack of aerodynamic efficiency is killing the AMR25 on two fronts: it's slow in a straight line, but the team can't just cut downforce because the car will slide more, making tyre performance worse.
'The difference between the qualifying and the race is quite simple,' said Krack after the Barcelona race.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Advertisement
'In qualifying you put new tyres, new tyres, new tyres, new tyres. You mask a lot of the problems that the cars are having.
'This is not only for our car, this is for all the cars. That is also why you see the small gaps in qualifying. Because all the weaknesses the cars are having are being covered by the new tyres, by the new rubber.
'As soon as the tyres become two laps, three laps, four laps old, the weaknesses become more and more. That is why you see that the cars in the front are just going. That is why the field is spreading so much.'
Noticeably, Aston Martin has been 'scrubbing' its race tyre sets – essentially giving them a short run, usually during practice, to put a heat cycle through them. The process of bringing the tyres up to working temperature and then cooling them again changes the visco-elastic properties of the rubber.
Advertisement
It would be overly simplistic to say this improves grip and life characteristics on a linear scale, but there is a belief it can make the tyres less sensitive to graining and thermal degradation. Peak grip is lower, but the aim is to make the duration of the peak longer.
Aston Martin's chief tyre performance engineer Jun Matsuzaki has been regarded as a key asset for many years and has been with the team since its Force India days, when he helped Sergio Perez become a 'tyre whisperer'. Before that he worked for Bridgestone. It was Matsuzaki who first worked out that Pirelli's rear tyres in 2013 could run longer stint lengths when mounted in the opposite direction they were designed to rotate.
So it's unlikely that Aston's performance deficit is being caused by not getting the best out of the tyres in terms of trackside operations. It's a question of mechanical and aerodynamic design.
Alonso, for one, seems to believe the team now has a handle on the problem: 'I think we know what is happening…'
Read Also:
F1 Spanish GP analysis: Red Bull forced McLaren to unleash its full potential
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Aston Martin 'Spy Car': Spy And Mistress Tour Europe Stealing War Plans
Now "Ulster bodied", this Aston Martin's wartime spy secrets can now be revealed. Tell me the plot, I say. "A British Army intelligence officer drives around Europe, just before World War 2, with his mistress, who's actually somebody else's wife and pretending she's Dutch, but really German," says retired construction company CEO Neil Pickstone. "They're masquerading as tourists in a 1935 Aston Martin, which has been fitted with secret compartments engineered by Aston and the Royal Automobile Club. "They befriend young, wealthy German army officers, steal German war plan documents, take photos of military installations, smuggling them back to Britain in those hidden compartments, and never get caught despite being stopped and the car being dismantled by the Gestapo." It sounds like a Netflix or Apple TV thriller. Except it's true, actually rather more extensive, and thoroughly documented, coming to light when two men from Cheshire, England, Pickstone and friend Simon Isles, bought the seen-better-days Aston in 2022. They'd been told the car was used to smuggle currency out of Nazi Germany, but became increasingly aware things didn't add up... Originally an Aston Martin Mark 2 Sports Saloon, the spy car chassis is retained under the "Ulster" ... More body. The car is now a faithful recreation of an "Ulster-bodied" 1930s Aston Martin race car. In the hands of British Army intelligence officer Robert William Fenton "Tony" Mellor it was a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2, but the original body way beyond repair. So Pickstone and Isles rebodied it, but retained its secrets. "Its original owner, Lieutenant, later Major, Mellor was born to a wealthy family. Come the threat of a second World War, back then there was no government budget for intelligence work. Much of it was self-funded by well-off military officers," said Pickstone. "Buying the Aston Martin in 1937, at 25, was a considered decision: in 1930s Germany, army officers were also from wealthy backgrounds. They enjoyed racing their cars, so when Mellor and mistress Ellen Magnee turned up in Germany in the the Aston, seemingly as rich tourists, German officers recognised it as a fast car and engaged in conversation; Mellor got to know them, taking opportunities to gather all sorts of intelligence". The only known image of Major Tony Mellor and his Aston Martin "spy car" comes out of storage. In parallel with deceiving German military officers, Mellor was developing close ties to the French Resistance. The Aston Martin became key to some of their missions, so appearances, especially during night-time car-bound exploits, were crucial. Fenton fitted Bosch headlights to replicate the look of a German staff car at night. He also stole a German military vehicle "exhaust whistle", diverted exhaust gasses sounding their imminent arrival at checkpoints, barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtling through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. Such antics were just part of the documented story, archived in files that came with the Aston and in Mellor's Cheshire Regiment museum. "The car came with a story about helping Jewish people pre-war, smuggling silver and currency out of Germany," said Pickstone. "It came with the secret compartments, the altered exhaust, and all the bits and pieces that made it special. "But the story about smuggling currency was fabricated. This was a spy story." Pickstone and Isles knitted together Mellor's memoires, the car's history file and archived accounts of then-fellow officers to piece together an extraordinary tale. It also raised the question of why, when a senior officer spoke about recommending Major Mellor for the Victoria Cross (the highest military bravery honour) there was a resounding silence from then military chiefs. However, Mellor was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Vermilion Star for his contribution to the French war effort. One of the secret compartments, the large tube, in situ. The Gestapo missed its hidden secrets even ... More after dismantling the Aston. In the car's file is a letter from Aston Martin to Mellor. It notes his attendance at the Aston Martin factory where he was instructed in repair and maintenance of the car on his European "tours". "The letter to Mellor is for, whatever purpose, from Aston Martin to confirm he spent time working in the factory on his car. We believe it's to document what he'd allegedly been doing for six weeks while out of barracks. We believe he was actually designing secret compartments," said Pickstone. "The first modification was a cross tube on the chassis. It had a locking mechanism that couldn't be spotted unless you knew what you were looking for," said Isles. Meanwhile, the Royal Automobile Club provided a battery. It worked normally, but also had a hidden compartment. "Just pre-war he was travelling around Europe with Ellen Magnee and got stopped by the Gestapo. They stripped the car, but found nothing," says Pickstone."In the archives there's evidence he said it was a good job because he had the plans for the Siegfried Line hidden in the secret compartments." The restored German Army officer staff car exhaust whistle. Mellor Captures 500 German Soldiers On His Day Off While he left the Aston in Holland for much of the war, his antics continued. He was one of the first British soldiers onto Sicily in 1943 where he is believed to have had a brief dalliance with a local countess. But he was also part of the spearhead during 1944's Normandy landings. "Soon after he was granted 24 hours leave to see 'friends' in a nearby village. He took a wireless man, a jeep and a driver. We believe he was meeting a previous girlfriend, and to gather intel about what the Germans were doing," said Pickstone. "En route they came across the Eighth Army, parked up approaching a bridge where there was a report of a German Tiger tank which had destroyed several Allied tanks. The commander of the Sherman tank at the head of the column refused to go any further. "Mellor and a French freedom fighter went to have a look, but the 'Tiger' was just a tracked vehicle. They captured it, just as a German staff car appeared; the Sherman opens fire, the staff car crashes, and the occupants captured too. "More freedom fighters appeared and proceeded to capture 200 Germans in the woods, locked them in a barn while they went to help defend a nearby town, but ended up capturing 300 more German soldiers. 'They were terrified of the French, so wanted to surrender to a British officer. Mellor ended up capturing 500 Germans on his day off...' The question remains: was Major Mellor the inspiration for James Bond? While it's mainly Cheshire lanes that pass under the Aston's wheels these days, you wonder what other tales of derring-do war-time archives, due to be opened under the UK Government's "100 year rule" in the 2030s, could reveal. Major Mellor retired to an Oxfordshire village, but evidence remained of his past. Upon his passing, his cottage was sold, the new owners discovering a secret compartment in the basement, evidently designed to store the tools of a spy's trade. Asking Pickstone and Isles if they thought Mellor, a neighbour of 007 creator Ian Fleming, a fellow intelligence officer, was the basis for James Bond they simply said I should draw my own conclusions. I'll simply let you draw yours...
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Grand Prix Sundays at Grand Prix Plaza
Las Vegas(KLAS)-Grand Prix Plaza is turning up the heat in Las Vegas by transforming into a weekly F1 fan hub. From noon to 3 p.m. each Sunday (earlier for live races), fans can catch every Grand Prix broadcast at Fuel & Fork and the F1 HUB Lounge. Advertisement Upcoming Grand Prix Sunday dates: June 1, 2025 – Spanish Grand Prix | Barcelona – Doors open at Noon /Race at 1 p.m. June 15, 2025 – Canadian Grand Prix | Montreal – Doors open at 9 a.m. / LIVE Race at 11 a.m. June 29, 2025 – Austrian Grand Prix | Spielberg – Doors open at Noon /Race at 1 p.m. July 6, 2025 – British Grand Prix | Silverstone – Doors open at Noon /Race at 1 p.m. For more information visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Hamilton Spectator
10 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Canning and Mets beat Dodgers 6-1 behind Alonso's 2 homers and 5 RBIs
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pete Alonso homered twice and drove in five runs, Griffin Canning held baseball's best offense scoreless for six innings and the New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Wednesday night. After the teams split a pair of 10-inning games to begin the series, the Mets took a 3-0 lead in the first when Alonso launched a two-run shot. They didn't score again until his three-run drive in the eighth, when Alonso hammered his 14th homer of the season 447 feet to nearly the top of the left-field pavilion. Canning (6-2) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked one for his first win since May 5 at Arizona. Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin hit Francisco Lindor with a pitch to open the game. Brandon Nimmo grounded into a fielder's choice to second, and Lindor was safe at third on Kiké Hernández's error. Nimmo stole second and Lindor scored on Juan Soto's RBI groundout before Alonso went deep. Andy Pages' homer off Ryne Stanek in the ninth accounted for the Dodgers' lone run. Los Angeles put runners on first and second with one out in the seventh against José Castillo. Pages doubled and Castillo grazed Michael Conforto with a pitch. But then Dalton Rushing and Hernández went down swinging to end the threat. Gonsolin (3-2) gave up three runs — two earned — and three hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked three. Key moment A bare-chested man ran out of the lower left-field seats during Starling Marte's at-bat in the eighth. He sprinted into center field chased by security before being pushed to the ground on the warning track in left. He was hauled off through the center field gates after a brief delay. Key stat The Dodgers' No. 2 through 5 hitters were a combined 0 for 15 with a walk. Up next Mets LHP David Peterson (4-2, 2.69 ERA) starts Thursday's series finale against RHP Landon Knack (3-2, 4.58). ___ AP MLB:
