Is Aston Martin in trouble? F1 ambitions facing…

Back in July 2021, Lawrence Stroll, owner of Aston Martin, conducted a press interview session ahead of the British Grand Prix in which he declared the “ultimate ambition is to win world championships”. When asked how long it would take, he added: “I don't think you could realistically plan on winning before four or five years.”

Four years on and Stroll has a hugely impressive state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone, which has reportedly cost £200 million to redevelop and build. The facility is without doubt the most impressive in Formula 1, boasting the latest equipment under one roof, including a brand new wind tunnel.

The team has also cycled through a number of technical staff, including former McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh while former Red Bull designer Dan Fallows is no longer serving as Aston’s technical director.

Its current management structure contains some of the best designers in modern motorsport.
F1’s greatest designer of all time, Adrian Newey, was persuaded to join from Red Bull. Enrico Cardile was hired from Ferrari and the operation is headed up by Andy Cowell, the man who was responsible for overseeing Mercedes’ engine project that gave the Silver Arrows such a huge advantage in the new turbo-hybrid era.

On paper, at least, Aston has all the ingredients to succeed yet it currently sits in seventh place in the constructors’ championship, behind Haas and Williams.

These are concerning times for Stroll. In November 2024, Aston Martin’s road car division announced a second profit warning in two months. And in February this year, it announced 170 job cuts after a fall in sales.

The F1 operation remains untouched by the road car sales slump, but the lack of performance is nonetheless a concern.

Car of Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing (Photo by: Ayman Yaqoob - Anadolu - Getty Images)

During practice in Bahrain, the steering wheel came off in Fernando Alonso’s hands while Stroll’s son, Lance, rather gloomily predicted that the Bahrain circuit was “not really our kind of track”.

These are concerning times for Stroll, not least because Alonso remains on zero points after this season’s opening three races. There is no doubt that despite turning 43, Alonso still has the speed, but he no longer has time on his side when it comes to his F1 career. Lance Stroll, 26, meanwhile, has failed to provide evidence he can sustain the sort of form that would warrant winning an F1 world championship title.

It poses the question what does Lawrence Stroll do next?

The obvious option would be to ask Newey to cast his eye over this season’s challenger and see if he is able to fashion a fix that will deliver an upturn in fortunes. Only Newey is not one for refining other people’s work, instead it is likely that he will continue to work on the team’s car for 2026, when F1 will undergo the biggest rule change in its history with both engine and chassis regulations changing considerably.

There will be the optimistic hope that having paired the man who developed the best F1 hybrid engine with the guy who was responsible for designing cars that have won 12 constructors’ titles and 13 drivers’ championships, that it will result in success. Only it is not a given.

Furthermore, what happens with regards to the team’s drivers? Alonso turns 44 in July, while the jury remains out on Stroll. And any preconceived idea that Yuki Tsunoda would follow Honda to Aston Martin as part of their engine deal for 2026 has also been blown out of the window by the Japanese driver’s recent promotion to Red Bull.

There is no doubt that Stroll’s vision to win is achievable, it just seems that despite huge financial outlays, and working against the pressure of propping up the automotive business, the reality of winning world titles seems further away today than it did four years ago.