Aston Martin misery continues as bizarre car issue triggers red flag

Lance Stroll has triggered a red flag during the opening afternoon of the second official F1 pre-season test in Bahrain after a strange problem with his Aston Martin.

Approaching Turn 11 at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Canadian appeared to lose drive, with the revs of the new Honda power unit dropping down and as it went into neutral.

It caused the three-time podium finisher to spin, where his AMR26 was left beached on the outside of the corner. He climbed clear of the cockpit and looked visibly unhappy with the sudden turn of events.

Currently P17 on the opening day, the car will be returned to the pit lane on a flatbed lorry. It is not clear whether the issue will be fixable for Stroll to return to the track with just under three hours of the day left to run.

It is the latest setback for the Silverstone-based squad in preparation for the 2026 F1 season. After limited running at the private test in Barcelona and setting the fewest number of laps during the first test in Sakhir, Aston Martin is in dire need of extended running.

Fernando Alonso managed only 28 laps in the opening four hours of running, and his team-mate was on his seventh lap of the day when the car stopped.

Last week, Stroll claimed the AMR26 was between four and four-and-a-half seconds slower per lap than the leading teams.

The Honda power unit — in the team's first year as a works outfit — appears down on power compared to rivals, and there are also concerns about the aggressive aerodynamic concept of Aston Martin's first Adrian Newey-designed car — which is also believed to be posing cooling issues for the power unit.