Aston Martin are watching history repeat itself in 2024. Just like last year, they started the season strongly before losing ground.
2023 began with six podium finishes in eight races for Fernando Alonso. While they weren’t able to hit those heights out the blocks this time, they did still bag a top-six result in three of the first four rounds.
But since Alonso qualified a season-best third for the Chinese Grand Prix in April, the team have struggled. He slipped back to seventh in the race, and Aston have only scored 18 points in the five subsequent rounds (including a Sprint weekend in Miami).
They were close competitors with Mercedes at the outset, but the Silver Arrows have now joined the fight at the front while the Silverstone outfit have slipped back into the midfield. The gap between the two has grown to 91 points.
Last season, the Austrian GP marked the start of Aston’s regression, launching a run of just two podiums in the final 14 races. They were simply out-developed by their rivals.
They head to the same event this year in a similar predicament. And this will surely frustrate their hugely ambitious team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Aston Martin display at Imola infuriated Lance Stroll
According to Auto Motor und Sport journalist Michael Schmidt, speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast, Stroll was particularly unhappy with how the team performed at Imola last month. The team brought nine upgrades to the race, including a new front wing, floor, rear diffuser and suspension.
Alonso, however, endured a miserable weekend, both starting and finishing 19th. Teammate Lance Stroll did score points, but ninth represented an unsatisfactory return.
Schmidt says that Stroll Sr vented his frustration to team members in the paddock. He was expecting a ‘breakthrough’ from the package, and it didn’t materialise.
“In Imola it wasn’t that quiet,” he said. “There are stories that it got pretty loud there after he discovered that the big upgrade didn’t bring about what he expected, at least right not away. It hadn’t actually brought about a breakthrough.”
There are four races remaining prior to the summer break. If Aston continue to struggle, then they may consider an early switch of focus to their 2025 car when the season resumes.
Will Aston Martin sign Adrian Newey?
Stroll isn’t content with Aston finishing fifth in the world championship – he wants them to compete for that titles. To that end, he’s struck an exclusive engine deal with Honda ahead of the 2026 regulation changes.
That may be a big part of the reason why Alonso has placed his faith in the team. The two-time world champion signed a contract extension back in April despite holding talks with Mercedes.
And Stroll is also going after perhaps the sport’s most legendary designer in Adrian Newey. Ferrari had looked like the favourites but Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater says their talks with the Englishman have ‘rather diminished’.
That leaves Aston Martin in pole position to sign the departing Red Bull man. Newey has previously said he regrets not working with Alonso, but he may yet have the chance.
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