The Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship is now in its final quarter of the 2025 season and the Paddock arrived at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas — home of the United States Grand Prix. For the Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team it comes after a welcome return to form in Singapore and the team arrived in Texas keen to convert potential into points at a technically demanding track. The 5.5 km, 20-corner and notoriously bumpy venue demands high-speed direction changes, strong straight-line performance and intelligent tyre management — a combination that the team’s AMR25 was deemed to be well suited to exploit. With this being a Sprint weekend, the opportunity for practice time was limited, meaning preparation had to be near flawless. For the event, Aston Martin unveiled a science-inspired, special one-off livery named “See the Science” (see photos). The design featured a series of F1-related scientific formulas that shone a light on the talented people who work to bring innovations to the cars. We would see how this would work out?
Practice Sessions
The single practice session at Austin took on more significance, with the Sprint race format compressing any preparation time into just one hour. Both Aston Martins delayed heading out on track for five minutes, as the early runners began laying down reference laps on a hot and dusty surface. Within minutes Alonso slotted into P7 and Stroll P9 as both drivers evaluated balance and grip on the medium compound tyres. It was a steady start, the pair deliberately building up rhythm on the circuit’s varied mix of fast and technical sectors and after a quarter of an hour Alonso was P9 and Stroll P10. Then, just before the half hour point, the session was halted briefly due to Stroll running wide and off track and as he rejoined and came back across the kerbs, something flipped up from under his car and left debris on the track which the marshals had to clear. He headed back to his garage where the waiting mechanics changed the front suspension, checked the diffuser and sent him back out again, during which time the session had resumed. At the halfway stage Alonso was P12 and Stroll in P17. Heading into the final 15 minutes both drivers switched focus to practice in Qualifying mode, testing the limits of the circuit and working to fine-tune tyre warm-up and braking points. The performance quickly came alive. Alonso’s feedback on front-end grip coincided with a strong run that elevated him to P1 with just six minutes remaining. Stroll followed up with an improved lap time that placed him P6. Although Norris later eclipsed Alonso’s time, despite exceeding track limits, as did Hulkenberg and Piastri, Aston Martin’s performance was extremely encouraging. When the chequered flag fell, Alonso finished in P4 and Stroll P14.
Sprint Qualifying
With just 12 minutes available in SQ1, the field wasted no time in heading out — both Aston Martins among the first to join the queue. On their first timed runs, Alonso posted a clean lap that placed him P3, with Stroll P6. As other drivers improved their times, the Aston Martin pair slipped down the order to ninth and twelfth respectively - the track was evolving quickly and grip was improving with every passing minute. With three minutes to go, traffic intensified as drivers sought clear air for a final push and several cars failed to cross the start-finish line in time, but both Aston Martins managed to start their final laps just before the flag. It proved crucial — Alonso ended up twelfth and Stroll fourteenth, both progressing to the next round. SQ2 was more of a knife-edge. Alonso’s first lap was tidy and he placed himself seventh. Stroll, however, found himself in the drop zone, in eleventh, and needing improvement. With three minutes left, the team sent both cars out for their final runs. Alonso managed to extract just enough from the car to scrape through to SQ3 in ninth, while Stroll was eliminated, finishing fourteenth. It was close — less than two-tenths covered positions seven through fifteen — a reflection of just how fine the margins are around Austin’s undulating layout. In the final round, SQ3, most drivers waited until the final few minutes to take advantage of maximum track evolution. Alonso, one of the last to start a flying lap, hooked up a controlled and competitive run to secure P6. Verstappen claimed pole for the Sprint, followed by the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri.
Sprint Race
Every team had chosen to use the medium tyre for the short, 19-lap race, but when the red lights went out chaos erupted almost immediately. Off the line Piastri made a better start than Norris and moved to attack on the outside as they approached the first corner. The Australian then went for the inside in the hope of getting the cutback on Norris, but in doing so his left rear wheel caught the right front of Hulkenberg's car, who was leaving Alonso room, who had sneaked up further on the inside. That launched Piastri into the air and as he bounced back on to the track, he collected Norris which put both McLarens out of the race. Alonso was spun around and suffered a puncture due to the debris on track, as well as minor floor damage, meaning he was out of the race as well. With 3 stricken cars the Safety Car was instantly deployed. Further back, Stroll, caught in a separate mêlée, clipped Ocon and damaged his front wing. As the field circulated under caution for three laps, the Aston Martin pit crew attended to replacing Stroll’s front wing and he rejoined in fourteenth. The Safety Car came in on lap 6 and the race resumed. At the halfway point Stroll was still P14 and trying to make headway. Finally, he managed to pass Bortoleto on lap 13 and started to reel in Ocon ahead. On lap 16 Stroll attempted a careless lunge on the Frenchman into turn 1, locked up and speared the Haas, which put both cars out of the race and presented the Aston Martin mechanics with a massive repair job. The Safety Car was deployed again and the race finished under Safety Car conditions with Verstappen taking the win, ahead of Russell and Sainz. It was not the outcome Aston Martin needed — both cars retired and no points scored. To compound matters, Stroll received a five-place grid penalty and two points were added to his super licence for the contact with Ocon, which would be applied in the main race.
Qualifying
As attention turned to Qualifying for the main race, memories of the carnage in the Sprint race was still fresh so many of the drivers headed out early to avoid potential yellow or red flag interruptions. Despite that, Hadjar crashed into a wall which brought out red flags. The debris was scooped up and the session restarted within 10 minutes and Alonso, determined to reassert himself, was immediately on the pace. On his first flying lap he went quickest overall, briefly holding P1 before Verstappen and then Leclerc beat his time. At the halfway mark Alonso was P5, Stroll P15, with both McLarens notably behind Alonso, suggesting the Aston was working well over a single lap. Feeling safe, Alonso did not go out again, but Stroll had to. On his final run he went 11th provisionally but he had exceeded track limits, resulting in a time deletion. That penalty dropped him to 18th and into the drop zone, marking his thirteenth Q1 elimination of the season — more than any other driver. Alonso, did go through, ironically in P11. In Q2 Alonso was on the front foot again – temporarily going P3 on his first run, before dropping to 8th as others improved. With five minutes remaining, he returned to the track for a second attempt and delivered a clean, controlled lap that kept him inside the top ten in 9th. In Q3, Alonso used a set of used soft tyres for his opening run, placing 8th after the first sequence of laps. The team opted for a fresh set for the final push and when the chequered flag fell Alonso wasn’t able to improve and only finished 10th - less than four-tenths from the front row. Verstappen secured pole position ahead of Leclerc and Norris. While Alonso was feeling confident that starting 10th would put him a position to challenge for points, Stroll would face a long and possibly lonely Sunday — the additional five-place grid penalty for his Sprint collision meaning he would start at the very back of the field.
Race
After the fireworks during the previous day’s Sprint race the capacity crowd at the Circuit of the Americas were speculating what the main 56-lap race would produce? For the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, this would be a chance to recover from that calamity and reset the record. Prior to the start there was a positive development when it was learned that Stroll would inherit a position, as Hadjar had been given a heavier grid penalty for exceeding power unit component limits and he would start at the back of the pack. Given the gap in the respective positions of the 2 Aston Martin drivers the team decided to split the tyre strategies - Stroll starting on the soft compound, aiming to make a faster start and carve through traffic in the early stages, while Alonso would begin on medium tyres, targeting a longer first stint and a one-stop path to points. When the five lights went out Leclerc managed to get the jump on Norris off the line, while Verstappen slotted into the lead unchallenged. Alonso found himself boxed in by Tsunoda on the run into turn 1, lost momentum and two positions. Behind him, Stroll made a better getaway, gaining a place when yellow flags were waved for Albon, who ran wide. Stroll continued his forward progress, passing Ocon cleanly with DRS into turn 12 on lap 4. On lap 7 Sainz hit Antonelli which triggered a Virtual Safety Car - the chain reaction benefitting both Aston Martins: Stroll climbed to 15th, while Alonso moved into the points, up to 10th, aided by Bortoleto and Albon having a coming together. Racing resumed on lap 9 when the VSC ended and Stroll was able to quickly close the gap to Colapinto, eventually passing him on lap 12. 5 minutes later, Stroll moved up a further place when Bortoleto came into the pits for a tyre change on lap 16 and he soon found himself within a second of Gasly, a battle that persisted until lap 20, when Stroll pounced and executed a clean move past the Alpine, which put him 12th. At the halfway stage, Alonso was in P10 still, Stroll 12th. Up front, Verstappen was in a class of his own — over ten seconds clear of Norris and Leclerc’s fierce scrap for second. Eventually, at the end of lap 28, Stroll had to come into the pits to rid himself of his worn tyres and switched to a fresh medium set, slotting back into the race in 16th place, poised to attack once again. Alonso briefly inherited 9th when Tsunoda pitted but he had to come in on lap 31, the expected window for those on medium tyres, switched to soft tyres and emerged 14th, still within strategic play. During the medium tyre pit stop window places changed frequently but when everybody was serviced and with less than 20 laps to go Alonso was 10th again and Stroll 12th. On lap 39, Stroll was in a spirited duel with Lawson, initially passing him, though the Kiwi reclaimed the place later in the lap. Stroll remained within DRS range for a while but over the course of the remainder of the race, dropped behind. Both drivers, although always pushing, maintained their positions until the chequered flag, Alonso finishing 10th and Stroll 12th, capping off a determined and composed performance after starting nineteenth — overtaking more cars than any other driver in the field. At the front a classic battle took place when Norris and Leclerc went wheel-to-wheel again in the closing laps, with the McLaren regaining second place, but it was Verstappen that claimed yet another commanding victory, ahead of Norris and Leclerc.
Reflections
While Aston Martin didn’t enjoy the full reward their racecraft merited, Alonso scored a point at least and Stroll delivered a strong, mistake-free drive, his recovery from the back was among the day’s more quietly impressive performances.
Post Race Comments
Commenting afterwards on the race Alonso said, "
We started tenth and finished there, so we come away with one point in the end. We didn't really have the pace to fight for anything more than P10 and it seems we had a bit more performance in Qualifying than in the race. It wasn’t the most exciting day for me, and we were open to various strategies, but it was a standard one-stop race. We'll go again in Mexico and see if we can fight for points there." Stroll was much happier with his day, stating, "
Today was a fun race – we made our way through the race attacking with some good overtakes and picked up a couple of positions. We were close to getting to the points, but it was always going to be tricky from where we were starting – we did the best we could. The car was feeling good today and became a bit more alive with the change of wind direction. So a positive Sunday considering yesterday and now looking ahead to Mexico next week."
Aston Martin leave Austin with renewed belief, only 3 points behind RB Racing Bulls in the Constructors Championship — and with the clear goal of converting performance into a stronger double-points finish next time out in Mexico City.