Fernando Alonso did something that Aston Martin thought was ‘impossible’ in the Austrian Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso continues to make great use of Aston Martin’s recent upgrades after finishing the 2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix in P7 to score points for a third straight race.

The 43-year-old had been enduring his worst start to an F1 season for 10 years before Aston Martin fine-tuned the upgrades they debuted at Imola. Alonso did not get a point in the first eight rounds, but has since had points in three straight races for the first time since last May.

Alonso’s seventh-place finish in last Sunday’s Austrian GP also helps to quell Aston Martin’s doubts about the real impact of their upgrades. The Silverstone team questioned the impact of their raft of updates as Alonso and Lance Stroll were still struggling to manage their tyres.

Fernando Alonso completed an ‘impossible’ one-stop race to score points in the Austrian Grand Prix

Alonso was not confident about Aston Martin’s chances at the Austrian GP before the event, either, with the Oviedo native more optimistic for the British Grand Prix. The team are set to bring upgrades to the AMR25 at Silverstone, where the high-speed corners will suit their car.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

The Red Bull Ring largely has slow-to-medium speed corners, but Alonso was able to qualify in P11 and finish the Austrian GP in P7 while Stroll qualified P16 and finished in P14. Alonso was even chasing Liam Lawson for P6, until he was lapped by Lando Norris on the final tour.

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack puts Alonso’s points-paying finish at the Red Bull Ring down to the Spaniard’s ability to convert a one-stop strategy. The team doubted if it would be possible to prevent a second pit stop, yet it proved crucial to Alonso’s six points.

Krack has told AS: “In the morning, we thought it was impossible. We saw the opportunity, but we needed a backup plan because we weren’t 100% sure it would be possible. It was very well executed by Fernando to keep the tyres alive. Some simulations suggested it could work, but then you have to do it. If we had stopped twice, we wouldn’t have scored points.”

Austrian GP winner Lando Norris saved Fernando Alonso from being overtaken by Gabriel Bortoleto

Alonso made his only pit stop on Lap 33 of the Austrian GP, as Aston Martin swapped out his worn set of medium C4 Pirelli tyres for a set of the hard C3 tyres. Lawson was the only other driver to try the one-stopper at the Red Bull Ring, with the Racing Bulls star stopping on L32.

Stroll, on the other hand, pitted on Lap 26 to get rid of his medium tyres and then on Lap 53 to go from the hard tyres to a set of the soft C5 compound Pirelli rubber. But the 26-year-old took the finish line in P14, with just Franco Colapinto and Yuki Tsunoda finishing behind him.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Alonso would have likely fallen to eighth place had Austrian GP winner Norris not lapped the Aston Martin ace on the McLaren man’s final tour, to bring the Spaniard’s battle with Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto to an early end. The Brazilian finished only 0.515s behind his agent.

Bortoleto was over 10 seconds behind Alonso on L57 of the Austrian GP, but used his fresher hard tyres to chase Alonso down. The 20-year-old even tried a move for P7 at Turn 3 on L69, but Alonso utilised his experience to get the cutback and kept the position as Norris neared.