Editorial: Aston Martin has declared that this year will be the year

Aston Martin has once again failed at the United States Grand Prix, with Lance Stroll finishing well behind in seventh place and the British team falling back in the constructors' standings, despite being tipped at the start of the season to rival Red Bull.

It's a refrain heard in many French stadiums: ASM Clermont always stumbles at the final hurdle in rugby, PSG seems to lose its nerve every time it reaches the final stages of a soccer competition, and Marseille looks almost comical in its European outings. In Formula 1, Aston Martin has taken on the same role this season.

At the start of the year, we thought the British team would finally give Red Bull a run for its money. In reality, only one of its drivers is at the level required to challenge the reigning champions, and Fernando Alonso has scored around 78% of the team's points so far.

As the season progresses, development work becomes less and less important, and it is Mercedes, Ferrari, and now McLaren that are starting to pull ahead of the “Greens.” Even with Alonso on the team, the Aston Martin car has not improved enough, and when upgrades do appear, they have little impact. Either Lawrence Stroll knows how to keep the Spaniard happy, or he has simply softened his approach. At Alpine or even McLaren, he would have already put the whole team back to work and sparked a revolution. He has made a few public appeals, but none of the decisive measures we have seen in previous seasons. Some would say that with the end of the season approaching, there is nothing left to gain and that attention has shifted to 2024. That's hard to argue with, but teams like Mercedes and McLaren continue to introduce new parts that translate into points and, ultimately, better positions. Aston Martin, meanwhile, slipped to fifth place in the championship after the United States Grand Prix and Lando Norris' podium finish, despite a brand-new package that looked promising in Austin but was never fully exploited.

A modest fifth place seems a long way from the victories we were promised. Unless a miracle happens—or perhaps a pilgrimage to Lourdes—the “Greens” have ruined their season, even though it started so well.