Fernando Alonso has described Aston Martin’s latest upgrades as a “small step in the right direction” following his ninth-place qualifying effort at the British Grand Prix. The Silverstone-based team introduced a revised floor and tweaked top bodywork for their home race, aiming to enhance aerodynamic performance around the rear tires.
Aston Martin’s Final 2025 Updates
Team principal Andy Cowell confirmed the new package builds on the previous Imola-spec upgrades but shifts focus toward floor optimization.
“While Imola’s changes centered on top-body shaping, this update prioritizes the floor with minor adjustments to the bodywork,” Cowell explained. “The goal is to improve rear-tire airflow, which should help balance and tire wear.”
He added that this is likely the last scheduled upgrade for the AMR25, with no further wind tunnel tests planned—though the team remains flexible.
Alonso’s Verdict: Cautious Optimism
After testing the upgrades on Friday, Alonso noted a slight performance gain but emphasized the competitive nature of the midfield.
“The new package showed a small advantage, but it’s marginal,” he said. “When everyone brings updates, you don’t leap forward—you just keep pace. We saw that today with Haas and Alpine also making Q3. It’s tight, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
Qualifying wasn’t straightforward for Aston Martin after a red flag in FP3 disrupted their soft-tire runs.
“We went into qualifying a bit blind on setup,” Alonso admitted. *”Missing that final practice session meant we had to guess on front-wing adjustments. Still, we managed well and secured Q3, which was important.”*
Race Day Prospects
Originally set to start ninth, Alonso will move up to seventh due to grid penalties for Andrea Kimi Antonelli (-3 places) and Oliver Bearman (-10). However, he expects a tough battle.
“Williams have strong pace—maybe more than they’ve shown recently—and Tsunoda behind us will be quick,” he said. “It’ll be a long race, but our long-run pace looked decent yesterday. Tire wear wasn’t an issue, so if we manage things well, points are possible.”
With Aston Martin’s incremental gains and Alonso’s strategic racecraft, the team remains hopeful of a top-ten finish at Silverstone.
