Lance Stroll sounds the alarm: “We’ve got problems” as Aston Martin struggles in testing

Aston Martin continues piling on the miles in preseason testing, carefully stretching the limits of its Honda power unit. But inside the garage, the mood is tense—and Lance Stroll isn’t sugarcoating anything.

Speaking Thursday while Fernando Alonso logged laps in the AMR26, the Canadian delivered a brutally honest assessment that hit the paddock like a cold shower.

“The clock will tell us how much performance we can extract from the car. Right now, we have the problems we have,” Stroll said. “We’re trying to improve every run, every day, and see how much we can get out of this car.”

Pressed by AS about the nature of those issues, he didn’t hesitate:“It’s a combination of things. Engine, balance, grip… it’s not just one thing.” He even admitted that “a good part” of the balance issues may be tied directly to the power unit.

And when asked whether anything about the AMR26 stood out positively, Stroll’s answer was ice‑cold: “The livery looks nice and the weather’s good.”

That was it.

“We are where we are, and we have the problems we have,” he added. “All we can do is keep pushing, try to get more performance out of the engine and the car, and see where we are in Australia—and how we can develop from there.”

“We’re four and a half seconds off”

Stroll then pointed to the timing sheets, which painted a grim picture.

“Right now it looks like we’re four and a half seconds off the leaders,” he said. “It’s impossible to know exactly what every team is doing, but we need to find four seconds of performance.”

He continued: “And they’re not going to fall from the sky. We have to improve and find performance. That’s normal in F1 when you’re behind your rivals. We’re looking long‑term—we’ll bring upgrades to the chassis and the engine, and we’ll see where we are in Australia.”

Realistic, cold, and blunt

Despite the frustration, Stroll kept a measured, realistic tone. “We want to fight for wins, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to do that right now. Does that mean we won’t be able to fight for wins in the future? No, I think we can.

“I don’t have a crystal ball. It doesn’t look amazing right now, but it can improve a lot, for sure. Will it be 100 percent? I don’t know. I don’t have answers to those questions.

“All I can say is we’re pushing as hard as we can, trying to bring every second, every day. Time will tell how competitive we are in the first race and throughout the season,” he concluded.

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