The 2025 F1 season kicked off with a chaotic opener at Albert Park. Aston Martin emerged from the chaos with a respectable points haul, thanks to a fine drive from Lance Stroll to sixth place, while the race of teammate Fernando Alonso ended prematurely after a crash. Team Principal Andy Cowell reflected on Aston Martin’s performance at the Australian GP and the challenges ahead.
Speaking after the race in a print media session, Andy Cowell shared his mixed emotions about the team’s performance. While pleased with the result, he acknowledged the challenges presented by the unpredictable conditions.
When asked what his feelings were after a chaotic race, he said: “Yeah, I mean, pleased to get a good result out of a challenging race situation. You know, these sorts of weather conditions are super challenging for all the drivers and all teams to make the right calls.”
Cowell praised Aston Martin’s strategy and pit crew, highlighting their execution under pressure at the tense Australian GP.
“I think the strategy team did a great job, the pit crew reacted really well. I’m just pleased to come away with points. We need to do more work to understand our car and we need to add more performance in order to come to races where it’s dry and stable. So, we’ve learned lots and go away with a smile on our face, but knowing full well that, there’s some good fortune there.”
Andy Cowell very happy with the performance of Lance Stroll in F1 Australian GP
One of the standout performers of the day was Lance Stroll, who masterfully kept his AMR25 on the road while others faltered. Cowell praised the Canadian’s drive to bring home a decent set of points that put them fourth in the standings ahead of Ferrari.
Pitting him on lap 44 was critical, allowing them to jump Tsunoda, the Ferraris and Gasly.
“Lance drove an exceptionally good race, stayed out of trouble and the strategy worked out well.”
Andy Cowell called Alonso’s crash a mystery, citing external factors
Both Aston Martins started the Australian GP in 12th and 13th and cautiously navigated the early laps, battling for points. As the track began to dry, the critical decision of when to switch to slicks loomed.
However, before drivers could react, Alonso’s race came undone on lap 34 when his AMR25 lost grip on the exit of turn 6, spun 180 degrees, and hit the wall hard while fighting for the last point. The resulting Safety Car reshuffled the order and triggered the chaos.
Cowell touched upon Alonso’s unfortunate crash, noting that external factors might have contributed to the incident.
“Fernando was in turn 6, we don’t know whether there was a bit of gravel build-up from other people kicking gravel off, but the car reacted in turn 6 and the crash was the result of that. We need to understand some more on car characteristics and how do we improve it.”
He emphasised the difficulties in balancing downforce and drivability, particularly in tricky weather conditions.
“But it’s incredibly hard with this, with the aero characteristics of the cars, where you want to run them low to get downforce, but you want them to have a broad drivable characteristic as well,” Cowell added, “So, these sort of conditions amplify that a bit.”
