How does Aston Martin assess its own situation after a tough opening test?
Aston Martin wrapped up the opening three‑day pre‑season test at the Bahrain International Circuit with the AMR26 completing its first meaningful laps under the desert sun.
Lance Stroll wrapped up the opening three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit, returning to the cockpit for the final day, taking on both the morning and afternoon sessions. The team focused on aero mapping, low‑fuel performance, and high‑fuel race‑run behaviour, allowing Stroll to complete 72 laps with a best time of 1:38.165 on the Soft tyre.
Across the three days, Stroll and Fernando Alonso combined for 206 laps, giving the team a solid—if not flawless—foundation for the second test next week.
The Spnaiard completed 98 laps on Day Two, splitting his running between morning and afternoon sessions. The two-time world champion acknowledged that the British outfit is aware of the fact that it still needs to find more performance after the tough start to its new collaboration with Honda.
“It was good to be back in the AMR26 and get some solid mileage today. We worked through our programme and moved into longer consecutive runs, exploring different setups.
"Testing is always about learning and today was no different. It's clear there is a lot of work for us to still do and we need to improve our pace," Alonso continued.
"The team will analyse everything over the coming days to make sure we are well prepared for the test next week and for the first race of the season in Melbourne.”
Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack offered a realistic assessment of the team’s progress, acknowledging both the challenges and the value of early testing:
“After completing the shakedown in Barcelona, we have now finished our first test of the new season. We ran into some issues earlier in the week, and that's exactly why we go testing – especially with new regulations.
"This whole package is very fresh, so it takes time to understand all the different elements and identify where we need to improve. A big thank you to the entire team for the hours worked across the three days of testing.
"We are realistic in knowing that there is a lot of performance still to unlock in this package, and it is important that we analyse all of our learnings ahead of next week.”
Team Representative Pedro de la Rosa echoed Krack’s realism, noting that the team is still catching up after limited running in Barcelona and early issues in Bahrain:
“It's clear after the first week of the first pre-season test here in Bahrain that we are behind schedule and not where we want to be. We had limited running in Barcelona and we ran into some issues on day one of the test this week in Bahrain.
"Fernando and Lance have logged some decent mileage over the last few days, but we are catching up and always learning about the new package.
"We have the talent and resources to improve the car, and the team and our partners are all working incredibly hard to make this happen, both at track and back at Silverstone.”
