Points in the park

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team driver, Lance Stroll, got his 2025 FIA Formula One season off to a good start at the Australian Grand Prix, securing valuable points with a sixth-place finish.

Getting to grips in practice

The Free Practice sessions were the perfect opportunity for Lance and the team to build upon their learnings from pre-season testing. A mix of long and short runs were on the agenda to assess the AMR25’s pace ahead of the all-important Qualifying session on Saturday.

Lance was classified in the top 10 in FP1 and FP2, with a further P14 in FP3 on Saturday morning.

WATCH: 2025 AUSTRALIAN FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

Qualifying in the heat

In the first Qualifying session of the season, conditions were sweltering, very different to what was expected during the Grand Prix.

Lance completed his first runs of Q1 on the Soft compound tyre. He was able to progress through to Q2 in P14.

On another set of the Soft compound, Lance navigated Q2 well. As the final few moments of the session were unfolding, a spin from another driver triggered yellow flags around Turn 11, which compromised anyone on a fast lap.

Lance’s fastest lap of 1:16.483 classified him as P13, just three-hundredths of a second from his team-mate Fernando in P12.

WATCH: 2025 AUSTRALIAN QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Racing in the rain

In the lead up to the race, Albert Park was engulfed in rain. The wet weather and slippery track combined would make the race start hazardous.

Lining up P13 on the grid, Lance was the only driver that opted to start on the Full Wet compound, however after an aborted start and now being out of Parc Ferme regulations, the team opted to change to the Intermediate compound on the grid.

Lance started the race cleanly, gaining a place and making his way through the initial laps and a Safety Car period.

A dry line began to appear on the track, with many considering the optimal time to pit for dry tyres. As another Safety Car was deployed, Lance, running in P11, came into the pits to change to the Hard compound tyre.

The rain returned in the final quarter of the race, and as others around him went off the track, Lance was running in P9. Strategy was important here, and the team called Lance into the pits again to switch back to the Intermediate compound.

It proved the right strategy as, a few laps later, those ahead who had stayed on the dry tyre needed to pit due to conditions worsening. The Safety Car was called again, and Lance had climbed to P6.

The green flag waved on Lap 52, and Lance maintained his P6 position to the chequered flag, securing eight valuable points.

His season will continue on 21-23 March with the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2025 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco™ Formula One Team driver:

"That was a super tricky race, so it's good to come away with some big points for the team. I'm happy with that, for sure. We knew from the start that it was about staying on track and being on the right tyre at the right time, and we did that today. It's always a real balance of risk versus reward in these changing conditions. You've got to stay clean and consistent. The team made a great call bringing me in for the Intermediate tyres towards the end of the race. They were across the forecast and we made up positions because of it. The car still isn't where we want it to be – we've got to keep pushing for improvements – but that makes it even more important to make the most of opportunities like we did today."