Following a tough weekend in Brazil Formula 1 returned to the sport’s owners circuit – Las Vegas (they invested $500 million in the facilities and rights to host it there). The Las Vegas Grand Prix may appear to be all glitter, but the challenge it presents is entirely real. The 6.2km layout — the longest street circuit on the calendar — is best described as Monza with added walls. The track grip is low, as are the late evening temperatures, yet the long straights demand a Monza-style low-drag package. Pirelli expected the lowest grip of the year in the tyres and drivers were briefed to put in full warm-up laps to generate tyre temperature. With just 20 points covering sixth to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship heading into this final triple-header, Aston Martin knew there was every need to fight for points on a circuit where precision, patience and adaptability would matter more than outright pace.
Practice Sessions
Aston Martin’s preparations for the Las Vegas Grand Prix began under tricky and inconsistent conditions, with dust, debris and rain complicating all three practice sessions.
FP1 opened on a dusty, low-grip circuit that caught out several drivers as they tried to find rhythm around the newly resurfaced Las Vegas Strip layout. The Aston Martins ran a conservative programme focused on gathering data rather than chasing times. Alonso and Stroll finished 14th and 15th respectively, the pair completing steady laps but avoiding unnecessary risks. Both drivers reported poor grip and heavy dust off the racing line, limiting meaningful comparisons across the field. Not much was read into the result.
FP2 proved to be a fragmented hour. Running was interrupted by a loose manhole cover in the final sector, which forced a lengthy stoppage. The restart left little time for the customary long-run simulations that Aston Martin had planned, meaning the timesheets offered little indication of true pace. The session was primarily spent evaluating tyre warm-up and ride height settings on a circuit still bedding in. Stroll ended the session 11th, Alonso 18th.
Before FP3 had begun the following day there had been some more rain. Alonso went out after 3 minutes, on intermediate tyres, but didn’t set any representative times and there was no clear racing line. After 15 minutes he was classified P13 and was back in his garage. Stroll hadn’t been on track yet, despite the forecast predicting more rain was coming. He had been in and out of the AMR25 a number of times, apparently needing his seat to be adjusted. At the halfway stage, Alonso was classified P15, having still not set a representative time. Stroll, who hadn't set a time at all, was classified P16. Finally, with 15 minutes left to go, Alonso headed out on track as did Stroll. Initially Stroll only went 16th and Alonso 18th, but at the end Stroll finished P8 and Alonso P9.
Qualifying
Qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix unfolded in treacherous conditions. With the circuit saturated, Aston Martin sent Alonso and Stroll out immediately on full wet tyres. Both took advantage of the clearer track; Alonso slid the AMR25 confidently through the worst of the puddles and went P1, with Stroll slotting in just behind him. The going was slow though, with lap times being more than 30 seconds off dry conditions pace and taking over two minutes. Those drivers that ventured out on intermediates were quickly pirouetting, confirming the full wets were the only viable choice. Stroll continued to go round and briefly moved up to P1. In the final minutes the top order evolved as times improved on the drying racing line. At the chequered flag, Alonso finished P3, Stroll P4, a strong opening for the team. Conditions remained fully wet at the start of Q2, with the entire field heading out on full wet tyres. The early pace from the Aston Martin pair was encouraging - after the first runs Stroll was P3 and Alonso P6, both comfortably in positions where they could advance to Q3. Stroll even placed himself P1 briefly, before the midpoint of the round, then the rain started to ease and the track surface began to evolve more quickly. Aston Martin made a strategic decision to switch Stroll to intermediate tyres, the only driver to attempt them. But the circuit was not yet ready for the crossover. Stroll lacked grip throughout the lap and was unable to improve performance and slid down the order as the cars still running with wet tyres did improve while Stroll could not respond. The call proved costly: Stroll finished P12 and was eliminated. Alonso, still on wets, maintained his pace and secured P8, progressing into Q3. All the drivers selected intermediate tyres for the final round, but the track remained marginal, with several front-running cars struggling to generate enough temperature and stability. Alonso registered competitive lap times throughout and was P5 with 5 minutes left. Grip continued to improve in the final minutes and Alonso delivered a clean final run to secure P7. Norris claimed pole position, with Alonso set to start the race on the fourth row, while Stroll would line up two rows further back, after the misguided Q2 strategy call.
Race
The grid formed under the lights of the Las Vegas Strip and the stage was set for a captivating start as the drivers prepared for the 50 lap race. Alonso lined up seventh, Stroll twelfth, with both Aston Martins starting on the hard tyre compound in the hope of extending their first stints. When the lights went out, Alonso had a poor start and immediately slipped back, dropping to ninth while also sustaining front-wing endplate damage. At the front, Norris made an overly aggressive move off the line, squeezed Verstappen, ran wide and lost the lead and another place when Russell passed him down the next straight. A few corners later Leclerc passed Alonso, compounding the Spaniard’s difficult opening lap. Stroll’s race ended almost immediately. Bortoleto hurtled into turn 1 too quickly, locked up and speared into Stroll, causing terminal damage to the AMR25. Later on in the opening lap Alonso was able to regain P9 when Lawson hit Piastri, damaged his own front wing, that ended up under his RB! With debris on track a Virtual Safety Car was deployed. It ended on lap 4, leaving Alonso as the sole Aston Martin in the race running in P9. That is where he remained through the early phase of the race and by lap 15 there had been no significant position changes and nobody yet needing to pit for new tyres. Leclerc was the only driver making notable progress, having moved up from behind Alonso to P5. On the next lap however, Albon clipped Hamilton while attempting to repass him, shedding debris onto the circuit and triggering another Virtual Safety Car. Alonso pitted immediately for fresh tyres, expecting to benefit from everyone having to slow down, but the VSC was extremely brief and he rejoined in P15. When Russell pitted on lap 17 it promoted Norris to P2 and when Bearman stopped on lap 19, Alonso moved up a place. By lap 20 he was within DRS range of Tsunoda, who was occupied battling Colapinto ahead. On lap 22 Alonso sneaked past Tsunoda, who was too focused on Colapinto still and not paying attention to what was going on behind him. Alonso then went on to overtake Colapinto on lap 23, moving the Aston Martin up to P12, where he remained until Ocon pitted on lap 28 and moved him up to P11. But it would not be for long. With 20 laps to go Bearman began closing on Alonso, who in turn was attempting to pressure Hamilton. All three — Hamilton, Alonso and Bearman — were within a second of each other. Hamilton was on the newest tyres and gradually extended a gap and on lap 32 Bearman overtook Alonso. Ocon then closed in, on much fresher tyres and passed Alonso on the next lap. Meanwhile, at the front, Norris, who had pitted later than Russell, overtook him for second place. With 10 laps to go, Alonso was keeping within DRS range of Bearman, but lost ground on each of the remaining laps. Verstappen took the chequered flag ahead of Norris and Russell - Alonso trailed in 13th. Post-race, major news emerged when both McLarens were found to have skid-block wear below the minimum permitted depth, a technical infringement that normally results in disqualification. The Stewards later confirmed both Norris and Piastri were disqualified. Punishingly for Aston Martin, their 7th place Constructors’ Championship position was taken by Haas, who initially finished just outside the points, but had both their drivers promoted to points paying positions following the McLaren’s disqualifications. Aston Martin’s final classified result was Alonso P11 and Stroll DNF.
Reflections and Post Race Comments
It was a tough Saturday night in Las Vegas for the team. After showing decent pace in the wet during Qualifying, the dry conditions for the race were not favourable, and Alonso, despite his and the team's best efforts, having sustained damage in the early stages had the performance of his car hampered and could not hold onto a points-paying position. After the race he said, "It was a tough race for us as we didn't have the pace out there. With dry conditions tonight we knew it would be difficult to score any points. We also lacked top speed on the straights, so it wasn’t easy to battle or defend. We all tried our best though and we'll go again next week in Qatar and hopefully be able to fight for the points." Stroll was equally brief. "Unfortunately I got hit at the start of the race and that was it for me in the first corner. That's racing, these things happen. On paper we didn't expect to be too competitive tonight and don't think much would've been possible for us. Hopefully we will show some more competitiveness next weekend. At some tracks the car comes alive and hopefully Qatar will be one of them." There’s no respite - everyone packed up to travel straight to Lusail for the Qatar Grand Prix next weekend, which will include a Sprint race, as the season-ending triple-header continues.