Formula 1 ascended at Mexico City for Round 20 of the 2025 season, at the famed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where altitude, history and spectacle collide. This 4.304-km high-altitude bowl, perched at over 2,200 m above sea level, has many unique demands on the cars as cooling is minimal, meaning it strains reliability limits and engine breathing and for the drivers it’s physically challenging due to the higher altitude. The 71-lap race is always dramatic, especially off the start – it has the longest run of any circuit to the first corner and the crowd is magnificent, with vibrant grandstands providing an intense partisan atmosphere, especially in the baseball stadium section of the circuit. Aston Martin came away from the preceding round in Austin with a hard-fought for point and something positive, and although Mexico City hadn't proved a happy hunting ground for the team in the past (Stroll finished P11 & Alonso DNF last year – in 2023 both drivers DNF), they arrived in Mexico in good spirits, hopeful this is the year to turn that around.
The Mexico City Grand Prix weekend commenced under clear skies, thin air and with a very warm, but dusty track. Reserve driver, Jak Crawford, drove the AMR25 In Free Practice 1, in place of Stroll, to complete one of the team's mandatory rookie sessions for the season – one of nine reserve and junior drivers participating in the session across the grid. For the American, this was a valuable opportunity to gain mileage in a Formula 1 car, while Alonso focused on baseline balance and evaluating aerodynamic performance at high altitude. The dusty surface and low grip made early laps tricky. After 15 minutes, Alonso was running in P11 with Crawford P16, both steadily building confidence. By the halfway mark Alonso sat P12, Crawford P18 as the circuit gradually cleaned up. Later on in the hour, both Aston Martins switched to the soft tyre compound and their times started to improve - Alonso rising to P10 and Crawford to P16, before ending P12 and P19 respectively, when the chequered flag came out to end an incident-free session. All the regular drivers were back in their cockpits for the second Free Practice session, including Stroll, who went out early to get as much practice accomplished as possible. The team approached the hour with a more traditional run plan focused on race-relevant setup work and tyre evaluation. Alonso also ventured out briefly, on soft compound tyres, for an installation lap — scrubbing in a set for potential race use, a strategy sometimes employed to extend tyre life by a couple of laps when used under race conditions. After 10 minutes he switched to medium tyres for his longer practice runs. At the quarter hour, both cars were running comfortably inside the top ten, Alonso in P7 and Stroll P8. As the session reached the halfway point, rising track temperatures and evolving grip saw lap times tighten across the field. The Aston Martin pair briefly slipped down the order, with Stroll P14 and Alonso P16, before the final soft tyre runs in the closing stages restored them to where they ought to be. Alonso’s best lap secured P8, Stroll close behind in P10. That is where they stayed until the chequered flag, both drivers having completed a solid and productive session. Saturday’s final practice session saw Stroll being the first car to head out on track, quickly followed by Alonso. Both drivers completed early reconnaissance laps before returning to the garage for adjustments, a now familiar pattern in the team’s practice routine. After quarter of an hour, Stroll was 13th and Alonso 14th, neither driver seemingly pushing particularly hard. At the halfway stage, Alonso had climbed slightly to 13th, while Stroll had dropped to 18th, as both gathered data on the medium tyres. Heading into the final 15 minutes, Stroll switched to the softer compound and immediately improved, jumping to P6. Alonso, however, faced a setback — the team discovered an issue with his front-right wheel which prevented him from taking to the track for any final run on soft tyres. He had to sit out the rest of the session, having completed the fewest practice laps of any driver, while Stroll completed his final laps but he slipped down the order, finishing in P13 only, as others improved. Alonso saw himself drop to P19 while Norris topped the timesheet in his McLaren.
Fortunately, the issue on Alonso’s car was resolved in time in time for Qualifying and both drivers were among the first to head out when Q1 began, keen to bank early laps before the track got crowded with too many cars. The AMR25s briefly occupied the top two positions (they were the only cars out) but as the session developed and after everyone had completed a run, Alonso had settled into 10th while Stroll found himself right at the back – in P20. With six minutes remaining, Stroll headed out again, anxiously needing to pick up his pace. Alonso also headed out, needing to make certain he could secure passage to the next round. While Alonso maintained a solid rhythm, Stroll was struggling to extract more performance from his car and despite a final push, Stroll’s lap was not enough — he could only manage to place himself 17th and was eventually pushed down to 19th, 0.374 of a second slower than Alonso, who had secured 12th place and would go through to Q2. Stroll’s early exit again marked his 14th Q1 elimination of the season. In Q2, Alonso took to the circuit early again and on his first flying lap he briefly went P3, though faster drivers quickly demoted him down the order. Running on used tyres, he found it difficult to improve. With just over three minutes remaining, the field queued in the pit lane for their final attempts. Alonso pushed but could not find the necessary improvement, finishing the round in P14 — 3/10ths of a second away from the top 10. In Q3, Norris took a commanding pole position for McLaren, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton in their Ferraris.
As the formation lap got underway it was clear that Alonso would have his work cut out to make it into the points and that Stroll would have to do the best he could from 19th. Both Aston Martins started on the faster soft compound tyres, as did nearly every other team, all hoping to use the extra grip to make early progress through the field. After a long wait for the drivers at the front for those at the back to line up, the 5 red lights eventually went out and battle commenced. The four leading cars were all trying to squeeze around the first corner, which was never going to happen and Leclerc and Verstappen both ended up off track, seemingly gaining an advantage and were forced to hand positions back. Alongside them, Norris moved into the lead ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, while Championship leader Piastri slid down from 8th to 11th in the first few corners. Alonso and Stroll, both looking to seize any opportunities during the long run down to turn one, also faced frantic starts. Stroll spun in the opening corners and Alonso picked up some minor front wing damage, but was able to continue, albeit having dropped to 16th. By lap three, Alonso was back up to 14th and Stroll benefitted from Lawson heading into the pits to retire his car and from Hülkenberg encountering issues. Stroll continued to climb, overtaking Gasly on lap seven to move into P16. There was brief anxiety when it was announced that Alonso was under investigation for gaining an advantage during a close fight with Sainz but the Stewards quickly decided no further action was necessary. On lap nine, Stroll passed Albon to move into 15th, leaving both Aston Martins running line astern in 14th and 15th. Then on lap 18, after Sainz made an early pit stop, Alonso and Stroll moved up to 13th and 14th. Two laps later, Stroll overtook his team-mate to take 13th place. With his tyres past their best, Alonso headed into the pits on lap 21, switching to fresh medium tyres and rejoining at the back of the field, in P19. Meanwhile, Stroll gained places, as first of all Antonelli, then Hamilton pitted, allowing him to move up to 11th. The tyre change phase continued to reshuffle the order and after Piastri, Bearman and Russell had all stopped, Stroll momentarily held 10th place, before having to come into the pits himself on lap 27. He rejoined in 18th, with Alonso two spots ahead of him in 16th, having gained places after Hulkenberg and Colapinto had come into the pits – Hülkenberg having to retire his car. Both Aston Martin drivers put their fresh tyres to good use as they both caught and then passed Gasly, so that by lap 29 Alonso was 15th, Stroll 16th. Six laps later, approaching the halfway stage of the race, the Mexican mala suerte (bad luck) struck Aston Martin again when Alonso was required to bring his car back to the garage and to retire it, due to brakes overheating. Stroll, now Aston Martin’s sole contender, inherited the place and another when Hadjar pitted, and he pressed on. On lap 37, he climbed another place when Tsunoda pitted and a lap later overtook Albon to move up to 12th and got up as high as 11th before having to make a second pit stop, on lap 45, coming out 15th. For the remainder of the race Stroll continued to push but was not able to pass anybody – he just maintained position and only moved up a place, to 14th, when Sainz was handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane with 15 laps to go. He held that position to the chequered flag in a race that ended under a brief Virtual Safety Car when Sainz stopped on track on the final lap. The tension was all at the front, where Championship contenders Verstappen and Piastri were chasing down the Ferraris and Bearman in a Haas, with Norris in a class of his own. Norris went on to claim a dominant victory, ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen, while Bearman impressed in fourth. It also meant that Norris was now 1 point ahead of his team-mate in the Drivers' Championship – a huge comeback for him in the second half of the season and seemingly, with momentum behind him.
For Aston Martin, it was another disappointing afternoon — Alonso’s fifth retirement of the season and Stroll’s 14th place finish meant no points. Ultimately, the pace of the car was not there for the drivers this weekend, leaving the team with a lot of work to do ahead of the next round in São Paulo. Commenting afterwards, Alonso reflected, "It was a difficult race for me and we've struggled for pace all weekend. We had a good start but then there was some contact which caused minor damage to the front wing. Unfortunately, about halfway through the race we had to retire the car as a precaution. Hopefully we can have more luck in the future." Separately, he also declared how puzzled he was by how it was possible from being inside the top ten in Friday’s practice to being eliminated in Q1 and Q2 with Stroll falling before his teammate? “I mean, generally, the car goes backwards throughout the weekend,” he told media outlets after Qualifying. Stroll reiterated the point asked why Aston Martin goes backwards, the Canadian replied: “I don’t know. Maybe… I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers, but it’s just generally.” Pressed on why he doesn’t have any answers, he hit back: “Maybe you should go ask them” (meaning the team). After the race he said, "We always had realistic expectations coming to Mexico and historically this has been a track where we have struggled in the past. I had a spin during the first lap as the track was dirty on the outside. A strong first stint on the softs and some good moves by the team, but P14 was the maximum that was in it for us today."
The team flew home, aiming to regroup, before heading to Brazil and a Sprint weekend in São Paulo on 7-9 November.