Fernando Alonso delivers his verdict on Aston Martin's upgrades introduced in F1 Imola GP

Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin has made progress since introducing their upgrade package at the recent 2025 Imola GP, but admits the car still feels inconsistent. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, in Monaco, the Spaniard described the developments as a step forward, though not yet a complete turnaround.

The team introduced their first major upgrade of the season in Imola, also the first since Adrian Newey’s arrival and both drivers reached Q3 for the first time this year. Alonso qualified fifth while teammate Lance Stroll lined up eighth. However, a poorly timed safety car in the race hampered their strategy, costing both drivers a potential top-10 finish and Alonso his first points of the season.

Reflecting on the performance, Fernando Alonso noted that while the AMR25 still isn’t the easiest car to drive, he was able to stay close to front-running cars like the Mercedes and McLaren for around ten laps, a notable improvement from previous races where that window lasted just a few corners. While he admitted the car’s behaviour remains erratic at times, he believes the overall trajectory is positive, especially considering others struggled with consistency in Imola as well.

Asked by Sportskeeda if the upgrades in Imola had improved the feeling of the car and made it more drivable compared to the previous races, Fernando Alonso replied:

“Not dramatically, I will say. Feeling is still, it's a difficult car to drive, for sure, a little bit inconsistent. But at the end of the day, you are not in the other cars when you drive. And you see that everyone was struggling in Imola to keep the lap clean and everyone is having a moment here or there and lock -ups and we see the whole season you know how tricky these cars are so when we don’t have a great feeling in the car, doesn't mean that it's only on us you know.”

“It could be that is difficult for everyone, so you know as I said it was we seemed a little bit more competitive in Imola. For us definitely in qualifying but also in the race in the last couple of laps, just behind Lando and George, obviously that was new for us. In the previous races only we could keep up the pace for six or seven corners, and in Imola we kept for 10 laps, so yeah it definitely was a positive weekend, but let's see.”

After finishing P11 in Imola, the 43-year-old veteran remains the only non-rookie driver without a point in the 2025 season after seven races and two sprints.

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Fernando Alonso reckons that Barcelona will be a better test of the Aston Martin upgrades

Fernando Alonso believes it’s difficult to gauge how much of the progress made with Aston Martin’s Imola upgrades will carry over to the Monaco Grand Prix. The two-time world champion admitted that the nature of the Monte-Carlo circuit makes it an outlier in terms of car performance evaluation.

Alonso suggested that the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona will be a more telling indicator of the team’s true progress. He revealed that even when running the older Miami-spec version of the car on Friday in Imola, he wasn’t far off Lance Stroll’s pace, which gave him confidence in the team’s direction. However, Fernando Alonso was cautious about making assumptions about Monaco, noting that its unique characteristics make it difficult to assess the effectiveness of upgrades introduced at more conventional circuits.

Asked how much of the progress made on the car in Imola can translate to the Monaco weekend, Fernando Alonso said:

“Yeah, we don't know. That's the question mark for us as well. Imola was good, but also I had the Miami package on Friday and the car was not too far off compared to Lance's one. So you know, maybe Imola was a good track for us. But I don't know, let's see how it goes here, even though this is a very different track. I think Barcelona will be more a proper test, but yeah, Imola was good. Happy with that, and yeah, let's see.”

Adrian Newey is expected to attend the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, marking his first appearance at Aston Martin's pit wall since his departure from Red Bull. His presence comes when the Silverstone-based team is looking to build momentum following recent upgrades.

Fernando Alonso’s top-five qualifying result in Monaco signals a promising turnaround, especially when compared to the disappointment surrounding Aston Martin’s upgrade package at Imola this time last year.

Aston Martin currently sits seventh in the constructors’ standings with 14 points, all of which have been scored by Lance Stroll. The team will be hoping that their Monaco form, coupled with Newey’s growing involvement, is the start of a more competitive phase in their campaign.