Five races into the 2025 F1 season and Lance Stroll and Aston Martin finds themselves in familiar territory.
Once again, he’s wrestling with an Aston Martin that’s stuck in the midfield.
Currently 10th in the drivers championship, with 10 points, Stroll is literally in the middle of the F1 pack.
2025 is a season of Stroll “doing what we can” for Aston Martin
When asked where the AMR25 needs improvement, Stroll’s answer was blunt, claiming, “I think we need to improve in all areas.”
Despite glimmers of progress, the team has struggled to replicate its 2023 podium-chasing form, falling behind rivals like Alpine and Haas in the early rounds.
“We have some ideas for the coming races… we just gotta keep pushing and try,” Stroll said, hinting at Aston Martin upgrades that may appear in Miami.
With the other teams already pulling ahead, he acknowledged the issues the team face.
“Is it going to be enough to get ahead of the midfield? We’ll see.”
“But we still have an opportunity to bring something so we’ll do what we can.”
Stroll insists the team aren’t feeling too unmotivated just yet. “We’re not quitting, we’re not giving up the year yet.”
The ever-changing nature of Formula 1
Stroll reflected on F1’s highs and lows, noting that just two years ago, Aston Martin was fighting for podiums. Now, in 2025, they’re scrapping for 16th.
“That’s the nature of Formula 1,” he said.
“You have years where it’s more difficult than other years. Some years you have good cars and you’re always fighting.”
“I think two years ago when we were here after lap one I think we were first and third or fourth or something and I was fighting for a podium spot before I think the engine failed.”
“Two years later you’re fighting for 16th… you have to just always give it your all, keep pushing and things change quickly.”
Is 2026 the light at the end of the tunnel?
With plenty of races still to go this F1 2025 season, Aston Martin and Lance Stroll have as good a chance as the mid-field teams.
As Stroll noted, “The year is still young, we’re going to do what we can… next year however is also a big rule change and we need to be focused on that.”
But with changes to next year’s regulations, it may give the team a chance to reset.
“I think we want to be a lot more competitive than we are at this point.”
“It’s just about bringing as much performance as we can for the remainder of the year and see how much it brings. That’s all we can focus on, just bring what we can.”
