Fernando Alonso’s points finish in the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix offered a timely boost, but also masked the performance limitations that continue to hinder Aston Martin’s 2025 campaign.
The Spaniard secured his first points-scoring result of the campaign in Barcelona, promoted to ninth after Max Verstappen’s time penalty.
After qualifying 10th, Alonso dropped a spot to Nico Hulkenberg at the start but clawed back positions with bold moves in unconventional overtaking zones to secure a top-10 finish.
An uncharacteristic off at Turn 5 on Lap 14 saw the two-time World Champion run through the gravel and lose ground before pitting for a set of Mediums.
But a series of daring moves – including sweeping passes around the outside of Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman at Turn 3 – fuelled a spirited recovery, with Alonso ultimately clinching 10th after a late Safety Car set up a seven-lap sprint to the flag.
However, the 43-year-old did not have to time to reflect on his moves when looking back on the race, instead he pointed out the glaring issue his overtakes showed with the AMR25.
“We had a lot of front tyre degradation, so the front left was done by seven laps into the stint,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“And then we lacked top speed, so on the straights we were losing a lot. I didn’t make [a] single overtake on the 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, it was out of Turn 7 where I made like three overtakes in the last few laps.
“We need to solve this situation and start overtaking on the straight, with the DRS, like everyone does.”
Alonso flags straight-sine speed and tyre wear problems
His concerns over the straight speed of the Aston Martin were reflected in the speed traps at Barcelona.
While Verstappen and Oscar Piastri topped the speed charts at 297.5km/h on the main straight, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso languished near the bottom in 17th and 18th, respectively.
Another key issue Alonso pointed to was the impact on tyre degradation.
Aston Martin’s lack of straight-line speed forces him to push harder through the corners and puts extra stress on the tyres.
It has also compromised his qualifying performances in 2025, with Alonso believing the car now needs to be prioritised more for race pace over one-lap speed.
“We need to improve, a little bit, our straightline speed and also the [tyre] degradation,” he explained.
“Saturdays are quite competitive and Sundays we seem to take a step back.
I’m happy with the first points, and it was good timing with the safety car in the end.
“But if we go back to Thursday and we redo the weekend, we need to change something on the car to be a little bit more Sunday-biased than Saturday.”
Krack admits downforce choice making life “very difficult” for Aston Martin drivers
Aston Martin’s Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack echoed his driver’s concerns.
“We need to improve,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“As you have seen, we had to put quite a lot of manoeuvres, and not on the straights or out of corners.
“By doing that, you use a lot of tyres by trying to pass like this, like around the outside of Turn 3.
“So it’s something that we need to fix.
“We need to review how we came to this [downforce] level here, because we need to review how we decided to select this wing.
“We discussed it just now in the debrief, and we have discussed it already before. It’s something really to look at.
“We are making the life of the drivers very difficult, because you are looking more in the mirror than anything.”
READ MORE – Fernando Alonso expects Barcelona to stay in F1 despite Madrid arrival in 2026
