It took Fernando Alonso until the 18th round of the 2025 season to overtake his team mate in the points standings.

Was this an indication the two-times world champion is losing his edge 25 years since his debut? Or the strongest sign yet Lance Stroll owes his place in Formula 1 as much to his own abilities as the backing of his father, Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll?

It would be unwise to press either point too hard. As Aston Martin sunk to seventh place in the championship neither of its drivers were regular points-scorers. How many they were likely to score on any given weekend was strongly influenced by how competitive their rival teams were or whether the Safety Car appeared at a convenient moment.

The cards did not fall in Alonso’s favour over the opening races. He caught a patch of gravel on the racing line in the season-opener and spun into a barrier while Stroll, showing his usual touch for tricky conditions, collected useful points. Alonso also left the next round point-less after a brake failure while Stroll added to his tally again.

From there on Alonso was playing catch-up, but the Aston Martin was rarely quick enough to deliver points early in the season. He produced an excellent qualifying performance in Monaco only for the car to let him down in the grand prix.

Alonso began a semi-regular points run from his home round until the end of the season. Even so, it took time to chip away at the lead Stroll had established, and he lost ground at times. At Silverstone, Alonso felt Stroll got the better strategic calls in the rain, while in Zandvoort the Safety Car made a difference.

After the latter race, Stroll still ranked ahead of Alonso by two points. But from then on he only took one more point, at the season finale, while Alonso collected enough to scrape a top 10 finish in the final standings.

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Alonso’s superior one-lap pace was the obvious key to this. The gap between them may have been as thin as a hundredth of a second at times, but Alonso never failed to put his AMR25 ahead of Stroll’s on the grid for the main event.

By that standard, Stroll’s third season as Alonso’s team mate has to be regarded as his worst yet. Though he can deliver on Sundays, his one-lap pace continues to hold him back, something he needs to change when Aston Martin introduces its first car built to Formula 1’s all-new rules next year.

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Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Negative value: Alonso was faster; Positive value: Stroll was faster

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