Fernando Alonso has admitted that hopes of a late-season charge from midfield teams like his Aston Martin squad are unlikely, as Formula 1’s dominant quartet – McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull – continue to maintain a clear and unshakable advantage heading into the second half of the 2025 campaign.
At the midpoint of the 2025 season, the championship standings reflect a significant divide. Red Bull, sitting fourth with 172 points, holds nearly three times the points of fifth-placed Williams (59 points), while Alonso’s Aston Martin languishes in eighth with just 36 points.
The second-tier midfield battle is far tighter, with only 22 points separating sixth-placed Stake (41 points) from tenth-placed Alpine (19 points). As teams increasingly prioritize development for 2026’s major regulatory overhaul, upgrades for the current season are expected to be scarce, cementing the pecking order.
A Locked Top Eight and Midfield Struggles
At Silverstone recently, Alonso laid bare the challenge that faces teams outside the top four for the remainder of the year.
“The first four teams are miles ahead of everyone else, so the top eight cars will be nearly untouchable for the rest of the season,” he said.
With teams already beginning to pivot toward the all-important 2026 regulation reset – a sweeping overhaul that includes new power units and chassis designs – Alonso expects development efforts this year to slow dramatically, leaving little room for anyone outside the front-runners to make significant gains.
“There will not be many upgrades for anyone from now on, so we need something extra to happen, like in Austria, where two of the top eight cars [Verstappen and Antonelli] did not finish,” he added.
“So that opens a possibility for a P6 or P7. We were lucky to be P7 [in Austria], but that is not the norm. You are always fighting for P9, P10, which is already a good weekend.”
Eyes on 2026: A Reset for the Ambitious
Like many in the paddock, Alonso sees 2026 as the next real opportunity for Aston Martin – and other midfield contenders – to break into the elite tier of teams.
“We know that [2026] is a good opportunity, not only for Aston, but for many of the teams who want to become top teams,” said the 40-year-old F1 veteran.
“Next year is the reset on the rules, and we all want to be in that position, where we can fight for bigger teams, so it is an opportunity.”
That ambition is supported by Aston Martin’s significant infrastructure investment in recent years. During a recent media tour of the team’s newly completed factory at Silverstone Park, Alonso praised the quality of the new facilities, which many believe rival those of any top F1 organization.
“It’s an opportunity, and we know that the factory is one of the best facilities in the sport,” explained the two-time world champion.
“We said that already when it was under construction. Now it became a reality, so I’m happy that you saw and visited today.”
©AstonMartin
However, Alonso was quick to temper expectations, pointing out that cutting-edge infrastructure alone won’t automatically bring results.
“This is not about what we have or where we build the car – the results are normally the ones that dictate how strong a team is,” he added.
With twelve races still to go in 2025, the midfield battle remains intense, but increasingly isolated from the fight at the front, and minor details or race-day attrition could still swing fortunes.
For Alonso and Aston Martin, however, the real prize lies beyond 2025. As development budgets shift focus toward 2026’s reset, the Spaniard is aiming not just to score occasional points – but to finally challenge the “untouchables” once the playing field is leveled.
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