06/01/2025
NEWS STORY
Following a hugely disappointing season, Fernando Alonso cites the lack of time in Mercedes wind tunnel as being a significant factor.
Finishing fifth in the team standings might have looked good on paper - considering the strength of the 'big four' - but the fact that Aston Martin was 374 points down on (fourth-placed) Mercedes reveals just how dire the British team's season really was.
Though there were points finishes in the opening four races, and Canada - one of only four occasions when both drivers scored points - was arguably the best (team) performance of the year, the second half of the season saw the team battling for scraps, while Lance Stroll failed to score a single point after the summer break.
Indeed, it was hard to believe that this was the same team that scored six podiums in the opening eight races of 2023 and though still finishing fifth was only 22 points down on fourth-placed McLaren.
The recruitment of Adrian Newey offers hope for the future, as does the new partnership with Honda, but reflecting on a miserable 2024, Alonso believes the close ties to Mercedes were partly to blame for his outfit's struggles.
Other than the Mercedes power unit, Aston Martin relied on its German rival for its gearbox and also its wind-tunnel, where, understandably, time was limited.
"It's not an easy solution or an easy answer, because if not, probably we will do it a little bit easier than what we have found," the Spaniard told the Chequered Flag podcast.
"I think a problem of understanding a little bit the insides of the car, some of the wind tunnel problems that I think also Mercedes faced last year, in terms of developing the car," he added. "Our wind tunnel usage is a little bit limited by using the Mercedes tunnel."
Thankfully, the team's own new windtunnel comes on-stream this year, and while it will be too late to assist the team's 2025 contender it will be at Newey's disposal for the 2026 car.
Indeed, team boss Mike Krack can hardly wait.
"We will have Yoda soon helping us and his force, so nothing can go wrong for 2026," he says in a recent team Q&A on YouTube.