Grand Pricks

Red Flags & White Lies: Aston Martin’s Newey Era, Alonso’s Title Dream, and the Fight Back To The Top in F1 2025

1h29 | 01/16/2026

Description

Aston Martin is one of Formula One’s most ambitious teams, but ambition alone doesn’t win championships.

Owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin returned to the F1 grid in 2021 with bold long-term goals of becoming a championship-winning team. Early signs of promise came in 2023, when two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso delivered eight podium finishes, marking the team’s most competitive season to date.

However, momentum quickly faded. As rivals like Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren surged ahead, Aston Martin struggled to keep pace. Despite Alonso’s experience and pedigree, the team has yet to secure a race win since its debut. Meanwhile, teammate and team owner’s son Lance Stroll has achieved only three career podiums, none with Aston Martin, and neither driver has returned to the podium since 2023.

So what went wrong?

This episode explores Aston Martin’s performance decline, internal challenges, and the major leadership shake-up designed to reset the team’s trajectory. With legendary engineer Adrian Newey having joined in 2025 and stepping into the role of Team Principal in 2026, alongside Andy Cowell becoming Chief Strategy Officer, Aston Martin is clearly betting big on the future.

While 2025 has been framed as a “survival season,” the real focus lies on 2026 and the upcoming regulation changes, a potential turning point that could redefine the team’s fortunes. As Lawrence Stroll famously put it, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and building a title-winning F1 team is no different.

This is the story of how Aston Martin fell to P7 in the 2025 standings, why their championship hopes remain uncertain, and whether Fernando Alonso’s dream of a third World Championship is still alive.

One thing is clear: For Aston Martin, failure isn’t an option.

About the Series: Over ten episodes, Grand Pricks explore every 2025 Formula 1 team in depth, unpacking the drama, decisions, and defining moments, both on track and behind closed doors. Starting from last place in the Constructors' Championship to first, we reveal the stories you didn't see on race day.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe now.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Grand Pricks

Issy and Nav, lifelong Formula 1 fans, are forcing their best friend Reem to watch F1. She can’t tell a Red Bull from a Haas—but that’s about to change. We’re taking you along for the ride, as we give her a motorsport education like no other! Expect unhinged live reactions, chaotic debates about who really deserved the podium, and all the context you didn’t know you needed to keep up.

So buckle up as we tackle the 2025 season.

Grand Pricks was Highly Commended for Best Sport Podcast at the 2025 Independent Podcast Awards.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Grand Pricks

Issy and Nav, lifelong Formula 1 fans, are forcing their best friend Reem to watch F1. She can’t tell a Red Bull from a Haas—but that’s about to change. We’re taking you along for the ride, as we give her a motorsport education like no other! Expect unhinged live reactions, chaotic debates about who really deserved the podium, and all the context you didn’t know you needed to keep up.

So buckle up as we tackle the 2025 season.

Grand Pricks was Highly Commended for Best Sport Podcast at the 2025 Independent Podcast Awards.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Aston Martin is one of Formula One’s most ambitious teams, but ambition alone doesn’t win championships.

Owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin returned to the F1 grid in 2021 with bold long-term goals of becoming a championship-winning team. Early signs of promise came in 2023, when two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso delivered eight podium finishes, marking the team’s most competitive season to date.

However, momentum quickly faded. As rivals like Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren surged ahead, Aston Martin struggled to keep pace. Despite Alonso’s experience and pedigree, the team has yet to secure a race win since its debut. Meanwhile, teammate and team owner’s son Lance Stroll has achieved only three career podiums, none with Aston Martin, and neither driver has returned to the podium since 2023.

So what went wrong?

This episode explores Aston Martin’s performance decline, internal challenges, and the major leadership shake-up designed to reset the team’s trajectory. With legendary engineer Adrian Newey having joined in 2025 and stepping into the role of Team Principal in 2026, alongside Andy Cowell becoming Chief Strategy Officer, Aston Martin is clearly betting big on the future.

While 2025 has been framed as a “survival season,” the real focus lies on 2026 and the upcoming regulation changes, a potential turning point that could redefine the team’s fortunes. As Lawrence Stroll famously put it, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and building a title-winning F1 team is no different.

This is the story of how Aston Martin fell to P7 in the 2025 standings, why their championship hopes remain uncertain, and whether Fernando Alonso’s dream of a third World Championship is still alive.

One thing is clear: For Aston Martin, failure isn’t an option.

About the Series: Over ten episodes, Grand Pricks explore every 2025 Formula 1 team in depth, unpacking the drama, decisions, and defining moments, both on track and behind closed doors. Starting from last place in the Constructors' Championship to first, we reveal the stories you didn't see on race day.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe now.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Grand Pricks

Issy and Nav, lifelong Formula 1 fans, are forcing their best friend Reem to watch F1. She can’t tell a Red Bull from a Haas—but that’s about to change. We’re taking you along for the ride, as we give her a motorsport education like no other! Expect unhinged live reactions, chaotic debates about who really deserved the podium, and all the context you didn’t know you needed to keep up.

So buckle up as we tackle the 2025 season.

Grand Pricks was Highly Commended for Best Sport Podcast at the 2025 Independent Podcast Awards.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Grand Pricks

Issy and Nav, lifelong Formula 1 fans, are forcing their best friend Reem to watch F1. She can’t tell a Red Bull from a Haas—but that’s about to change. We’re taking you along for the ride, as we give her a motorsport education like no other! Expect unhinged live reactions, chaotic debates about who really deserved the podium, and all the context you didn’t know you needed to keep up.

So buckle up as we tackle the 2025 season.

Grand Pricks was Highly Commended for Best Sport Podcast at the 2025 Independent Podcast Awards.

Follow us on socials:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grandprickspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandprickspodcast/

X: https://x.com/grandprickspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Grandprickspodcast

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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