Canada's Stroll optimistic about upcoming F1 season for Aston Martin

Lance Stroll is feeling optimistic about Aston Martin's future in Formula One thanks to the arrival of renowned British engineer Adrian Newey.

Newey — the architect behind the success of several F1 teams over the past 30 years — is one of many new faces who have joined the team of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Lance's father.

Aston Martin also hired director Andy Cowell as a successor to Mike Krack this winter.

"Everyone is very excited about the future," Lance Stroll said during a video conference Tuesday. "A lot of talent has joined the team amongst talent that's been here a long time.

"Yes, the results have been frustrating, especially the second half of last season, and we're not where we want to be as a team. But I think the future is extremely exciting, and I hope and think everyone sees that when they come into work every day."

The 26-year-old from Montreal, who began his F1 career in 2017, finished 13th in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship. Despite his optimism, he remained cautious about Aston Martin's potential this season.

"That's the million-dollar question," Stroll said. "That’s why we all show up to Bahrain (for winter testing) and go racing in Australia (for the first Grand Prix of the season), it's that big question of where we'll end up.

"All I know is we've put a lot of work into this year's car, learnt a lot of lessons in the last 18 months on some of the decisions we've taken with development. We're really trying to address some of those mistakes we made and weaknesses we had in the car going into '25."

"Is it going to be enough? It's never good enough until you're on the top step of the podium."

Stroll also acknowledged that this will be a transition season, especially with new technical regulations set to shake up F1 in 2026.

"I think 2026 will definitely be a big opportunity for all the teams," he said. "At some point this season, we’ll have to start focusing on 2026 and forget about 2025, because that’s what we need to do to be in the best possible position for 2026."

For now, however, Stroll is focused on the task at hand during testing in Bahrain next week, in preparation for the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.

"Of course I want to win the race in Australia, but we have to see what's a realistic goal come, not even Bahrain tests, but really in the race weekend in Australia," he said. "That's kind when you get to see everyone's real car pace."

Stroll and his teammate Fernando Alonso were among the 20 drivers from the 10 F1 teams who gathered in London to kick off the 2025 season as part of a brand-new live unveiling event.

The event, 'F1 75 Live,' held at London’s O2 Arena, marks a turning point for the future of the series. For the first time, F1 has organized its own large-scale event to unveil the new cars, rather than letting each team handle it individually.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2025.