Alonso: Aston upgrades 'boosting confidence' but flaws remain

Fernando Alonso walked away from the Canadian Grand Prix feeling satisfied with a well-executed weekend and another valuable points finish – but the two-time world champion didn’t shy away from highlighting the lingering flaws that continue to hold Aston Martin back.

The Spaniard delivered a composed drive to seventh place in Montreal, building on a sixth-place qualifying performance that had positioned him well to lead the midfield fight.

His result marked back-to-back points finishes after a dismal run through the early stages of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

“Quite happy, I think the car was good the whole weekend,” Alonso said post-race. “Actually, the race was probably our least strong point of the weekend.

“Thanks to the sixth position yesterday in qualifying, we kept the pace at the beginning of the race and we opened a gap that was a little bit our safety net for the pit stops and things like that. Good weekend, we executed well and good points for the team.”

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Aston Martin’s recent upgrades have clearly unlocked more performance in the AMR25, particularly over a single lap. After failing to make it into Q3 at any of the opening eight races, Alonso has now done so at every round since the start of the European triple-header.

Upgrades Help, But Bigger Fixes Needed

While the recent developments have brought a sense of optimism to the Silverstone-based team, Alonso was quick to underline that fundamental weaknesses still lie at the core of the car’s DNA, particularly in long-run pace on Sundays.

“It gives us a little bit more confidence to push but there are still some weaknesses in the car since the beginning that we still not solved completely. Especially on the race pace on Sunday we see the problems,” he explained.

“Still a lot of work to do, today we led the midfield but the top teams are still quite far away and we need to close that gap.”

That honest assessment reflects the reality that while Aston Martin is inching forward, its position in the pecking order is still firmly behind the likes of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

Stroll Endures Tough Home Race

Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll endured a frustrating weekend at home in Canada. After exiting in Q1 during qualifying, his race never got going.

A 10-second penalty for forcing Pierre Gasly off track further derailed any hopes of recovering to the points, with the Canadian eventually finishing 17th.

“It's been a long, rough day and I'm not so pleased with this weekend overall,” Stroll admitted. “It was always going to be difficult starting the race from P17, but I also didn't feel like the car had the pace today to make up any positions.”

While Stroll’s season has tailed off since scoring in the opening two rounds, Alonso’s recent momentum has been critical in keeping Aston Martin ahead of a resurgent Kick Sauber in the Constructors’ Championship battle.

As Formula 1 heads into the next phase of the season, Aston Martin may have found some renewed stability – but there’s still a mountain to climb if they’re to return to the sharp end of the grid.

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