MOTORSPORT – ASTON Martin’s Formula One pre-season troubles continued yesterday as they could not set a lap time while ending their sessions early on the sixth and final day of F1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2026 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
Lance Stroll returned to the cockpit of the AMR26 for the final time before the world championship-opening Australian Grand Prix next month.
The Canadian did not get on track until late in the morning session due to a battery-related issue that had impacted the running of teammate Fernando Alonso on Thursday.
Power unit suppliers Honda carried out simulations on the test bench before the car returned to the track, but due to a shortage of power unit parts, the run-plan was very limited and consisted only of short stints.
“It’s been a challenging couple of weeks here in Bahrain, and today’s limited running wasn’t the way we wanted to finish the second test,” said Stroll.
“It’s clear the car isn’t where we want it to be performance-wise, and we know there’s a lot of work ahead in the coming weeks and months. There’s a long season ahead, and we’ll keep pushing flat out to unlock more performance.
“I know how determined this team is. We’ll stick together, rise to the challenge, and keep working until we deliver the performance we are looking for.”
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack added: “We have concluded our test programme in Bahrain, and the main challenge has been dealing with some reliability issues that have limited our time on track.
“This leaves us on the backfoot going into the start of the season, because we haven’t been able to complete all of the usual tasks typical of winter testing.
“We recognise there is a huge amount of work ahead, and everyone involved in this project knows where we need to focus to improve our situation.”
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