Aston Martin horror show ends early with sudden F1 testing exit

Aston Martin has announced its F1 pre-season testing has come to a close, with over two hours of running remaining on the final day of running at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Silverstone-based squad confirmed that Lance Stroll would not venture out on track again, having completed just six laps on the last day of running before the campaign gets underway in Melbourne.

Across the private shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where the team arrived late, and the six days of running in Sakhir, the AMR26 has completed just over 400 laps.

For reference, Mercedes has completed well over 1,000 laps by this stage, putting into context the extent of the difficulties encountered.

The team has been besieged by issues across its power unit and gearbox, and there are concerns about the early aerodynamic concept of Adrian Newey's first Aston Martin.

The relationship between the aggressively tight bodywork and the fledgling Honda power unit is also a problem, with the down-on-power and unreliable engine not helped by apparent cooling issues.

Fernando Alonso managed just 68 laps on the second day of the final test before the car came to a halt out on track.

Honda took responsibility for the issue, which was related to the battery, and confirmed that Stroll would be restricted to limited track action today, but his six laps fell well short of even dampened expectations.

A lack of pace is also plaguing the AMR26, and the Canadian said last week that the car was four or four-and-a-half seconds slower than the leading runners.

Elsewhere, McLaren missed the first two hours of the afternoon session. Whilst Lando Norris has since emerged in the MCL40, it is not clear at this stage what caused the delay.

Mercedes suffered a loss of pneumatic pressure halfway through the morning, which robbed Kimi Antonelli of his final two hours in the W17 before the Australian Grand Prix.

George Russell, as a consequence of the subsequent power unit change, was also late to hit the track on the final day, but has now reached 40 laps and counting.