After a strong start to the 2025 season, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll suffered a disappointing F1 Japanese GP weekend. Despite having had a strong start to the season, scoring 10 points in all three races prior to that at Suzuka, Stroll seemed unable to make it out of the bottom five. A dismal Saturday Qualifying saw him slowest of the pack, and he started the race at the back of the grid in P20.
Not much worked out for Stroll during 2025 F1 Japanese GP
Unfortunately, Stroll could not make up places during the race, hindered by the lack of overtaking opportunities around the Suzuka Circuit. When asked about his race, Stoll replied, “No, not much worked out today.”
He explained that the AMR25 had lacked pace, echoing comments by teammate Fernando Alonso, who finished P11, after a similarly poor weekend. Like Alonso, Stroll highlighted the difficulties of getting past his opponents in a slow AMR25, especially with so few opportunities for overtaking available.
“No, it seemed really slow and we were just stuck back there,” the Canadian driver said.
Stroll used 2025 F1 Japanese GP as a learning opportunity
With Stroll out of contention for any points at Suzuka, Aston Martin used the 2025 F1 Japanese GP as a learning opportunity, encouraging their driver to experiment with his AMR25 to improve their learnings ahead of the upcoming Bahrain GP.
“So, in terms of settings,” Stroll replied when asked if had been worth continuing the race despite being so far behind, “Yeah, you’re kind of still playing around with still and learning what you can.”
He admitted that he was still learning little things about his AMR25, that he hoped could be useful in Bahrain. This, he said, was normal for F1 drivers in his position, especially so early in the season.
“Yeah, little things, you know. Set-ups and stuff that you can think about for Bahrain. Just the usual.”
“You know, learning from each event, I think, is the best.”
When asked it is too much to expect better performance from Aston Martin in Bahrain and other upcoming races, Stroll replied, “I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”
He added, “You know, got to ask other people on the team.”
With Stroll currently 10th in the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship standings with 10 points, on par with Haas’ Esteban Ocon, and his teammate Alonso down in 17th with 0 points, Aston Martin will be keen to improve their performance in the upcoming races. With only 10 points, the Silverstone-based team currently sits seventh in the World Constructor’s Championship with 10 points, five point behind Haas’ and only three ahead of the increasingly competitive Racing Bulls.
