Fernando Alonso will be worried as ‘more impressive’ Lance Stroll overshadowed him in key area at the Chinese Grand Prix

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One of the big questions going into the 2025 Formula 1 season was whether Aston Martin had ironed out the issues that plagued their car at the end of the previous campaign.

Aston Martin finished fifth in the constructors’ championship, but their performance nosedived as the year went on, and every update they added to the car seemed to have very little positive impact.

Fernando Alonso carried Aston Martin and finished as the best of the rest behind the drivers from the top four teams.

In stark contrast, Lance Stroll failed to score points in any of his last 11 race weekends.

However, Stroll has impressed Alonso this season by securing back-to-back points finishes in Australia and China.

Not only that, but Stroll has managed to win Adrian Newey over after he started working in Aston Martin’s factory.

The Canadian sits above Alonso in the drivers’ championship, and spectators at the track at the Chinese Grand Prix spotted something that may worry the two-time world champion when it comes to his driving ability.

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Lance Stroll ‘even more impressive’ than Fernando Alonso at the Chinese Grand Prix

Journalist Edd Straw was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast, having attended the race in Shanghai.

He took a particular interest in how both Aston Martin drivers performed over the race weekend and explained: “I do want to say that I think Lance Stroll’s had a pretty good start to the season, not just results-wise.

“I was watching trackside through both sessions on Friday, and he was driving better than Alonso actually, and that’s one of the sort of best days I’ve seen from him.

“So. I feel like Stroll, perhaps it’s a combination of just the car being a little bit more stable and benign, and maybe he sort of regroups over the winter.

“He’s actually had a good start to the year, I know I’ve been critical of them in the past.

“But this is certainly a step up from what we saw from him in a lot of last season.

“I think Aston Martin aren’t going to be changing their approach or anything because this car is not very quick and they need some help to get into the points still.”

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Lance Stroll has early advantage over Fernando Alonso after one-sided 2024 Aston Martin battle

Stroll currently sits eighth in the standings after two race weekends, level on points with Haas driver and good friend Esteban Ocon.

In contrast, Alonso is at the bottom of the pack, having failed to finish either Grand Prix in 2025 thus far.

Stroll outqualified Alonso for the Sprint Race in China and was one-tenth slower than him in the main qualifying session, and the margin was even smaller in Australia.

The conditions in Melbourne were horrendous, and while Stroll delivered a really important P6 finish, Alonso ended up in the barriers like many of the rookies that day.

Alonso has been told he’s at the end of his F1 career, and at the age of 43, he knows he’s not going to be able to continue forever.

However, if Stroll is beginning to get the better of him and Aston Martin want to be in championship contention next season when the new regulations are introduced, they may face a difficult call on the Spaniard’s long-term future.