The Austrian GP was no ordinary race weekend. First, it was a Sprint weekend, which doubled the qualifying and racing action. And second, the increased competitive running put drivers at an increased risk of receiving penalties for exceeding track limits. It’s safe to say there was no shortage of penalties during the race for exceeding track limits, which saw almost half the field receive them. And the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll came out unscathed.

The FIA registered 83 cases of track limit breaches during the 71-lap race in Austria. While everyone except George Russell and Zhou Guanyu—including the Aston duo—exceeded track limits at least once during the race, many receiving penalties as well, the Silverstone team felt the FIA didn’t hand out sufficient penalties. After the race, it lodged a protest about the provisional classification, which the FIA approved. And after reviewing the footage, Aston Martin came out unscathed once again.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll would’ve wished for ear muffs during the race

After Aston protested, the FIA released the revised classification almost five hours after the race. As per the provisional classification, Alonso finished in P6, and Stroll finished in P10. Due to post-race penalties handed to Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, both drivers gained a position, improving the team result.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said, as quoted by as.com, “We learned the lesson from last year. We had penalties. The ears of our drivers (during this race) were bleeding because we told them not to exceed the track limits as the penalties would come.”

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The Austrian GP is always riddled with penalties, so the team ensured its drivers stayed within the limits. Protesting something so contentious is dangerous, especially when it could backfire on the protestant. But because the team ensured that Alonso and Stroll stayed within limits by reminding them constantly, it was confident of benefiting from the protest.

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Aston Martin played it smart at the Austrian GP and, as a result, is closer to Mercedes in the constructors’ championship. The Silverstone team has had a great start to the season, and it looks to get better throughout, especially after its new partnership with an iconic brand that’s returning to Formula 1.

Aston Martin will honor its new partnership with a one-off livery

On Wednesday, Valvoline Global became Aston Martin’s official lubricant partner. To honor this partnership, the team will run a one-off livery featuring Valvoline’s iconic blue and red colors at this weekend’s British GP—the team’s home race. As per Krack, “From this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Valvoline Global will provide race-proven lubricants for our AMR23 to help boost performance.”

This, combined with its partnership with Honda from 2026, will make for a team to be reckoned with, and according to Krack, “we [Aston Martin] are in a good position for 2026.”

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Will Aston Martin be the team to beat 2026 onwards?