The season opener in Bahrain was ultimately a sign of what was to come, as Alonso and Stroll finished at the tail end of the points in ninth and tenth — cementing Aston’s place as the fifth-fastest constructor.
Further point-scoring finishes followed in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, China and Miami, but as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes brought impressive upgrade packages, Aston became stuck in the proverbial mud, unable to make up any ground on the front runners but still comfortably head of the trailing field behind.
Alonso continued to lead the team, with impressive performances in Azerbaijan, Singapore, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to secure Aston a fifth-place finish in the constructors’ standings. Meanwhile Stroll, arguably struggled more than ever before. The Canadian scored points on just six occassions across the season and failed to finish two out of the last four grand prix.
Fortunately for Stroll, the poor performance and inconsistency of Alpine, Haas and RB meant that Aston comfortably held onto the fifth-place spot in the constructors’ standings. But at the wheel of a better car in 2025 and with perhaps more on the line, he’ll need to at least try to replicate the success of his two-time world title-winning team-mate.
2025: Is an overdue race win on the cards?
A disappointing 2024 campaign has done little to sully Aston Martin’s hopes for the future.
The addition of Adrian Newey, the completion of a new F1 headquarters and with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, the Silverstone based outfit is arguably now in the company of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. All that remains now is to execute.
While Newey will not have a great influence on Aston Martin’s 2025 challenger, a start date of March 1 means that he may be able to point the team in the right direction as the season progresses — perhaps allowing Alonso and Stroll to be competitive for an entire season instead of in occasional bursts.
It’s doubtful that Aston will contend for either F1 world championship, but with performance between front-runners expected to be closer than ever, podium finishes and even a race win could be on the cards.
Aston Martin 2024 F1 driver line-up
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| Fernando Alonso | Lance Stroll |
- Fernando Alonso is contracted with Aston Martin until end of 2026
- Lance Stroll is contracted with the team ‘indefinitely’
- Felipe Drugovich will continue to act as reserve driver for 2025 season
Key personnel
Executive Chairman: Lawrence Stroll
Since leading a consortium of investors to bring Aston Martin back from a 63 year F1 hiatus, Lawrence Stroll has remained a key investor in the team’s future — now acting as executive chairman.
The new £200 million F1 headquarters is a notable example of the billionaire’s aspirations for the team, and its proximity to the Silverstone circuit as well as access to state-of-the-art design centres and wind tunnel should provide it with a significant on-track advantage.
Team Principal: Mike Krack
Born in Germany, Krack’s journey to the pinnacle of motorsport began early in his career when he started working in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) and quickly made a name for himself with his technical knowledge and passion.
He then moved to Formula 1 as an engineer and quickly rose through the ranks to become a chief engineer for several teams. Krack’s hard work and dedication to the sport were eventually rewarded when he was appointed as the team principal of Aston Martin in 2021.
Under his leadership, the team made significant progress, and Krack was praised for his ability to bring the best out of the team. With his wealth of experience and strong technical background, Krack is poised to lead Aston Martin to new heights in the coming years.
Managing technical partner: Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey has now been announced at Aston martin – with an unprecedented salary
Aston Martin
On May 1 2024, Adrian Newey announced that he would be leaving Red Bull after an 18-year tenure that included seven drivers’ and six constructors’ championships.
Then on September 10, it was announced that the legendary car designer — who had also built title-winning cars for Williams (1992-1997) and McLaren (1998-1999) would be jumping ship to Aston Martin, where he would start work as the team’s managing technical partner and as a shareholder from March 1 2025.
“I felt as if I needed a new challenge,” said Newey in a press conference to announce the move. “I decided I needed to do something different.
“Lawrence’s passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing,” said Newey. “It’s very persuasive. The reality is, if you go back 20 years, then what we now call team principals were actually the owners of the teams: Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, etc.
“In this modern era, Lawrence is actually unique in being the only properly active team owner, and it’s a different feeling when you have somebody like Lawrence involved like that. It’s back to the old school model and to have the the chance to be a shareholder and a partner is something that hasn’t been offered to me before. So it’s a slightly different slant. It’s one I’m very much looking forward to. It became a very natural choice.”