2025 Aston Martin | Aramco F1 Team

[Rodak]

...and simply hate on him because they are jealous they weren't born into wealth.

I don't think that's it at all; he's just not a likeable person.

[JPower]

Imagine sharing some clips of Lance drifting to people and telling them it's Alonso, Verstappen or someone highly rated. Then you ask them what do they think Lance Stroll would do in that situation. After they are done laughing you tell them it's actually Lance. It would be a fun social experiment. 90% won't have any clue and simply hate on him because they are jealous they weren't born into wealth.

In the end, Lance may not be a top F1 driver but in terms of talent he's still firmly in the very top of professional drivers worldwide. Hard for many to gain that perspective.

[peewon]

Imagine sharing some clips of Lance drifting to people and telling them it's Alonso, Verstappen or someone highly rated. Then you ask them what do they think Lance Stroll would do in that situation. After they are done laughing you tell them it's actually Lance. It would be a fun social experiment. 90% won't have any clue and simply hate on him because they are jealous they weren't born into wealth.

The F1 media really pushed the Lance criticism train in 2023. Alonso was consistently getting podiums and outperforming most of F1 darlings for the first half. Most newish F1 fans had no idea about how good Alonso was as they had never seen him do well. So instead of giving Alonso his dues, they turned the tables on Lance and how badly he was performing in comparison.

You can see a lot of articles and stories critical of Lance in a short period of time in the first half of 2023. There was absolutely nothing in comparison when he was partnered with Vettel. As with most things these days, once the tone is set in the media on a narrative, the nature of social media just takes it to another level, specially when there is no pushback.

Is he a good driver? Definitely not. But I think he could be competitive with a lot of drivers who have been given a seat in the last few years. Whats completely exaggerated is how much hes holding back Aston. If AM had Verstappen last 2 years instead of Lance, the only difference it would make is maybe getting 4th in constructors in 2023 instead of 5th. Nothing else. Unless someone wants to talk driver feedback, etc which is completely unknowable or measurable.

[Sherrinford]

Imagine sharing some clips of Lance drifting to people and telling them it's Alonso, Verstappen or someone highly rated. Then you ask them what do they think Lance Stroll would do in that situation. After they are done laughing you tell them it's actually Lance. It would be a fun social experiment. 90% won't have any clue and simply hate on him because they are jealous they weren't born into wealth.

The F1 media really pushed the Lance criticism train in 2023. Alonso was consistently getting podiums and outperforming most of F1 darlings for the first half. Most newish F1 fans had no idea about how good Alonso was as they had never seen him do well. So instead of giving Alonso his dues, they turned the tables on Lance and how badly he was performing in comparison.

You can see a lot of articles and stories critical of Lance in a short period of time in the first half of 2023. There was absolutely nothing in comparison when he was partnered with Vettel. As with most things these days, once the tone is set in the media on a narrative, the nature of social media just takes it to another level, specially when there is no pushback.

Is he a good driver? Definitely not. But I think he could be competitive with a lot of drivers who have been given a seat in the last few years. Whats completely exaggerated is how much hes holding back Aston. If AM had Verstappen last 2 years instead of Lance, the only difference it would make is maybe getting 4th in constructors in 2023 instead of 5th. Nothing else. Unless someone wants to talk driver feedback, etc which is completely unknowable or measurable.

I think they don't want Alonso to win, too talented and imagine if at his age he can beat today's drivers at their best, how would the fans, newspapers etc react. It doesn't suit him, but if despite this, the obstacles and impediments he were to have a fast car, well, I think I would prepare the popcorn.

[diffuser]

Imagine sharing some clips of Lance drifting to people and telling them it's Alonso, Verstappen or someone highly rated. Then you ask them what do they think Lance Stroll would do in that situation. After they are done laughing you tell them it's actually Lance. It would be a fun social experiment. 90% won't have any clue and simply hate on him because they are jealous they weren't born into wealth.

The F1 media really pushed the Lance criticism train in 2023. Alonso was consistently getting podiums and outperforming most of F1 darlings for the first half. Most newish F1 fans had no idea about how good Alonso was as they had never seen him do well. So instead of giving Alonso his dues, they turned the tables on Lance and how badly he was performing in comparison.

You can see a lot of articles and stories critical of Lance in a short period of time in the first half of 2023. There was absolutely nothing in comparison when he was partnered with Vettel. As with most things these days, once the tone is set in the media on a narrative, the nature of social media just takes it to another level, specially when there is no pushback.

Is he a good driver? Definitely not. But I think he could be competitive with a lot of drivers who have been given a seat in the last few years. Whats completely exaggerated is how much hes holding back Aston. If AM had Verstappen last 2 years instead of Lance, the only difference it would make is maybe getting 4th in constructors in 2023 instead of 5th. Nothing else. Unless someone wants to talk driver feedback, etc which is completely unknowable or measurable.

I think they don't want Alonso to win, too talented and imagine if at his age he can beat today's drivers at their best, how would the fans, newspapers etc react. It doesn't suit him, but if despite this, the obstacles and impediments he were to have a fast car, well, I think I would prepare the popcorn.

Who doesn't want Alonso to win?

[-wkst-]

What I find quite interesting, coming back to topic, is that the "spanish camp" (on top ALO himself on DAZN for example) downplays every chance for months now to have success in 2025. Latest example Roberto Merhi.

On the other side there aren't sources/claims from the UK who suggest that 2025 is a write off.


Curious what's actually the case. Somehow I have the big hope that the "spanish camp" deliberately play things down, that people are positively surprised by AMR and ALO can shine here or there.

[BassVirolla]

What I find quite interesting, coming back to topic, is that the "spanish camp" (on top ALO himself on DAZN for example) downplays every chance for months now to have success in 2025. Latest example Roberto Merhi.

On the other side there aren't sources/claims from the UK who suggest that 2025 is a write off.


Curious what's actually the case. Somehow I have the big hope that the "spanish camp" deliberately play things down, that people are positively surprised by AMR and ALO can shine here or there.

If you could be guided by something, you should read non verbal communication from Alonso. I don't remember a single event where he can hide when he's excited or he's disappointed. If he's quite neutral, we can assume that they will not be in the bottom of the grid, but also not fighting with the top four teams.

[Seanspeed]

What I find quite interesting, coming back to topic, is that the "spanish camp" (on top ALO himself on DAZN for example) downplays every chance for months now to have success in 2025. Latest example Roberto Merhi.

On the other side there aren't sources/claims from the UK who suggest that 2025 is a write off.


Curious what's actually the case. Somehow I have the big hope that the "spanish camp" deliberately play things down, that people are positively surprised by AMR and ALO can shine here or there.

I dont know why anybody would reasonably expect 2025 to be a great season for Aston. They ended up terrible last year, and most all of the same team responsible for that car have designed the 2025 car. Further, Aston, like most of the non-top runners, will have the biggest motivation to prioritize 2026 development as the season goes on.

Keeping expectations moderate at best seems the most reasonable thing to do.

I think the main thing to look out for is whether the developments they do bring are seeing any kind of positive competitive/characteristics changes, and whether they can get more out of the car on a consistent basis. Some areas where Newey can at least have some influence, even if simply through supervision of these things. Him being able to say early on before the team commits to any specific parts/packages/whatever, "Yes, this is a good direction to go in" is something the team seems to desperately need.

I would say if they can manage to keep themselves at the forefront of the midfield on a more regular basis it would be a 'success', but anybody thinking they're gonna be getting anywhere near 2023 form will probably be disappointed.

[-wkst-]

Noone talks about a great season, but I have never understood this "they will concentrate on 2026, because they were terrible in 2024 and the same guys designed the 2025 car" idea. Yeah, but this guys also design the 2026 car. With that logic they will never produce a strong car. Newey alone won't secure them a winning car.

Moreover they are still dependend on Mercedes. If they get their act together with the rear, what turned out to be a weak point, AMR will profit automatically.

The words and goals of Cowell and Krack are way more ambitous by the way. Not cocky, just ambitous.

But I would sign that the body language of ALO will give us a good idea were the team stands once they hit the track.

[Seanspeed]

Noone talks about a great season, but I have never understood this "they will concentrate on 2026, because they were terrible in 2024 and the same guys designed the 2025 car" idea. Yeah, but this guys also design the 2026 car. With that logic they will never produce a strong car. Newey alone won't secure them a winning car.

They didn't give Newey the deal they did if they thought Newey was only gonna be taking some minor consulting role here, come on now. Of course Newey will have significant contributions to the 2026 car, and most importantly, will be critical in guiding its direction at basically every step of the way. Newey also seems to have valuable input in the actual live running of the car on race weekends, with the aerodynamics being as setup-sensitive as they are.

So no, it wont be the same team on the 2026 car.

Newey alone wont give them a winning car, but he can absolutely help drag them up the grid from where they've been, and stop them from floundering every single season in terms of ability to develop the car.

[-wkst-]

I think everyone knows how great Newey is and what he accomplished so far in his life. No question he will be a great help for the team. But also the GOAT needs a perfect team behind him to do his "magic", that everything works as it should.

So if you draw the picture that the AMR engineers team (400 people by the way) is not able to produce a good car in 2025, the same engineers team won't be in 2026 either, even with the help of Newey. In that case he will need more time (with Cardile, Cowell and co.) to form a new and better engineers team.

[Sherrinford]

Noone talks about a great season, but I have never understood this "they will concentrate on 2026, because they were terrible in 2024 and the same guys designed the 2025 car" idea. Yeah, but this guys also design the 2026 car. With that logic they will never produce a strong car. Newey alone won't secure them a winning car.

Moreover they are still dependend on Mercedes. If they get their act together with the rear, what turned out to be a weak point, AMR will profit automatically.

The words and goals of Cowell and Krack are way more ambitous by the way. Not cocky, just ambitous.

But I would sign that the body language of ALO will give us a good idea were the team stands once they hit the track.

Newey is the most important and greatest engineer in F1, so he alone makes a huge difference, imagine the rest of the people they hired. Anyway, for me the problem last year was mechanical, I keep saying and thinking it, just fixing the suspensions could give enormous benefits

[604gtir]

I think Newey's strength is actually problem solving. He's able to translate driver feedback into design and somehow understand what is wrong and needs changing.
Early 2025 maybe the car isnt great, but he could walk in and say fix these things and the 2025 car could start moving in the right direction after summer break.

[abhi1200]

Noone talks about a great season, but I have never understood this "they will concentrate on 2026, because they were terrible in 2024 and the same guys designed the 2025 car" idea. Yeah, but this guys also design the 2026 car. With that logic they will never produce a strong car. Newey alone won't secure them a winning car.

They didn't give Newey the deal they did if they thought Newey was only gonna be taking some minor consulting role here, come on now. Of course Newey will have significant contributions to the 2026 car, and most importantly, will be critical in guiding its direction at basically every step of the way. Newey also seems to have valuable input in the actual live running of the car on race weekends, with the aerodynamics being as setup-sensitive as they are.

So no, it wont be the same team on the 2026 car.

Newey alone wont give them a winning car, but he can absolutely help drag them up the grid from where they've been, and stop them from floundering every single season in terms of ability to develop the car.

You can take the example of redbull as soon as Newey left redbull had drop in performance even they had championship winning team building car so Newey had great impact on how car perform....you like it or not but you can't ignore him.

[diffuser]

I don't think any of this has any bearing on how well or not so well AM F1 start the year.

That's just me though.