Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll had a very contrasting time at the Canadian Grand Prix, as the Aston Martin drivers finished last week’s race in P7 and P17 respectively.
Alonso even made it to Q3 during qualifying at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, but Stroll bowed out in Q1 at the Montreal native’s home race. Stroll had briefly shown pace on the soft tyres in Q1, but could not then improve enough after Aston Martin swapped to the medium tyres.
Starting the race in P17 thanks to Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s 10-place grid penalty for the Canadian GP ensured Stroll had a mountain to climb to try and join Alonso in the points. The Spaniard started in P6 and he only fell behind Ferrari pilot Charles Leclerc, who started in P8.
Alonso has also now scored points in back-to-back rounds after ending his worst start to an F1 season since 2015 with P9 in his home race, the Spanish Grand Prix. Stroll has not scored points since the second of the 10 rounds held, after taking P6 in Australia plus P9 in China.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Aston Martin are ‘debating’ the real impact of their upgrades after a mixed Canadian GP
Despite Alonso scoring points in the 2025 Canadian GP, Aston Martin also left Montreal with questions about their car. According to Auto Motor und Sport, the Silverstone crew are now ‘debating’ how successful the upgrade package that they introduced at Imola actually was.
Alonso has reached Q3 at all four of the Grands Prix since Aston Martin introduced a raft of upgrades to Imola. But the 43-year-old and Stroll have not been able to maximise the gains from the updates as Aston Martin’s car still treats its tyres ‘too harshly’ over a race distance.
The rate the AMR25 destroys its tyres ensured Alonso was forced into a two-stop strategy in Montreal. Haas saw Esteban Ocon score points in the Canadian GP with a one-stop strategy, as the Frenchman moved from P14 on the grid to P9 by utilising his rivals falling into traffic.
Aston Martin need Lance Stroll to improve his qualifying while they improve their car’s tyre management
Aston Martin remain committed to developing their car until at least the summer break, as the Silverstone squad are largely focusing on the 2026 F1 regulations. But Alonso doubts if he will win races in 2026, and he will need a miracle to win a Grand Prix racing the AMR25.
Alonso has at least proven the AMR25’s single-lap pace since Aston Martin took a new halo, floor with a new body, fences and edges, diffuser, engine cover and beam wing to Imola. He qualified P5 for the Emilia Romagna GP, then P7 in Monaco, P10 in Spain and P6 in Canada.
But until Aston Martin improve the rate the AMR25 destroys its tyres during a Grand Prix, it may be a case of holding on rather than charging through for Alonso in the upcoming races. The Silverstone squad will also need Stroll to improve his qualifying to help them get points.
Stroll broke a helmet in a fit of rage after qualifying in Spain, having only managed to secure P14 with a Q2 lap time 0.535s slower than Alonso’s. He also qualified P8 at Imola with a lap 0.15s slower, P18 in Monaco and was 0.889s slower in Q1 and was 0.444s slower in Canada.
