Aston Martin impress in Monaco practice with AMR25 upgrades

Both drivers reached Q3, with Alonso qualifying in P5, the beneficiaries of instant improvements from their new package.

Considering that Aston’s recent updates were also ran in the new wind tunnel, this pace is also encouraging for next season.

Although an ultimately failed strategy cost the team points in Imola, their pace in Monaco so far suggests they will be very competitive for the foreseeable future.

The AMR25 is fast in all three sectors at Monte Carlo, particularly the first two.

At the Monegasque circuit’s medium and higher-speed sections – in addition to the predominantly low-speed corners – Aston Martin hold their own.

Considering that low-speed corners were previously a weakness for the team, their pace very promising.

Of course, whenever updates are implemented, it takes time to understand and optimise them – with set-up and tyre preparation.

In this sense, Aston Martin have more pace to unlock with their existing package.

Alonso and Stroll reflect on FP1 and FP2

Reflecting on a productive day in Monte Carlo, Fernando Alonso discussed his sensations in the AMR25:

“I was a bit happier with the balance of the car in FP2 today after some set-up changes and hopefully we can take another step tomorrow.

“It’s a track where you have to keep building the momentum and confidence.

“Traffic will be one of the main topics tomorrow, so let’s see if we can get some clean laps in Qualifying.”

Alonso was impeded by traffic on numerous occasions on Friday, which is a recurring theme across the field at this circuit.

For tomorrow’s qualifying, setting a clean lap that isn’t affected by traffic or red flags could be equally important to having raw pace.

Meanwhile, Lance Stroll’s Friday was compromised by a collision with Charles Leclerc in FP1.

Not only did this contact result in a 1-place grid drop for the Canadian, but it also restricted his track time:

“It wasn’t an easy FP1 for us today: we missed out on a lot of running due to contact with Charles Leclerc.

“The team in the garage worked hard to get the car back running ahead of FP2 and we made progress with the programme.

“We now need to see what changes we can make overnight to improve the car and be ready for Qualifying.”