Aston Martin continues to struggle with reliability: after countless engine issues, at Monza it was even a suspension failure. And Alonso’s words speak volumes…
“It’s frustrating: I could probably have 20 or 30 more points than I do now, but that’s the way it is. Unfortunately, I’m getting used to it.” These sentences sum up Fernando Alonso’s Monza weekend—and not only that.
In a season already far below expectations, marked by embarrassing performances (especially in qualifying) and back-row starts, Aston Martin’s problems still seem nowhere near a solution.
Despite a development package of decent quality that has certainly raised the potential of the AMR25, reliability issues on the British car show no signs of ending. At Monza, it was once again Fernando Alonso who had to deal with yet another failure in this troubled 2025 campaign.
The missing 30 points and the 2026 World Championship dream
Melbourne, Shanghai, Monaco, and now Monza: that makes four retirements so far for Fernando Alonso in a 2025 season to forget. The bad luck of an engine failure in Monte Carlo (while in the points) and brake issues in China, plus the inexplicable suspension failure in Italy (again while in the points), are only the tip of the iceberg of Aston Martin’s ongoing problems.
The team’s problems are structural as much as they are about reliability: Mike Krack’s departure, with Andy Cowell stepping in, and the signing of Adrian Newey (whose true impact will only be seen in 2026) were supposed to give Lawrence Stroll’s team a strong backbone. So far, however, results remain well below expectations.
Already in 2024 there was a clear decline compared to 2023 (-186 points). Projections for 2025 are even worse, with only 62 points scored so far (Aston Martin collected 94 points in 2024).
The team’s meager tally is, of course, heavily impacted by the “missing 30 points” Alonso referred to after the GP. Yet even with those extra points, Aston Martin’s season remains deeply disappointing. Is Andy Cowell really the right man to bet on? While there are no doubts about Newey (especially since the AMR25 is not his design), it is likely that the team principal and his group of engineers will need to change pace.
On top of that, there is the complicated situation with Enrico Cardile, the former Ferrari technical director, whose work this year has been disrupted by a legal dispute with Ferrari. For a car expected to fight for the championship in 2026, when the regulations reset, these kinds of problems—both of reliability and structure—are simply not acceptable. .
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari HP
