Aston Martin receives brutal criticism: 'It's not F1 standards'

Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has delivered a bout of brutal criticism to Aston Martin, insisting its current performance is "not F1 standard anymore" following the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

It has been a miserable opening seven rounds for Aston Martin, which, despite having a point to its name, has, on the whole, been the slowest team on the grid this season.

The Silverstone-based outfit has faced countless issues with its AMR26, the majority of which have been caused by Honda's power unit.

Ahead of the opening race in Australia, team boss Adrian Newey revealed that both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were at risk of permanent nerve damage in their hands due to vibrations in the chassis caused by Honda's engine.

Small steps have been made on the reliability front, but Aston Martin remains very much a backmarker. Finishing races has been a huge challenge, with the team's drivers having suffered a combined eight retirements between them.

Stroll has accounted for six of those, while Cadillac, F1's newest team, has retired on only four occasions. Both Aston Martins retired in Barcelona, marking a miserable home race for Alonso.

Asked who his biggest disappointment was in Barcelona, Steiner told the Red Flags podcast: "I think it must be Aston Martin, because Aston Martin makes even Cadillac look good.

"And Cadillac was down three laps by the end of the race, but Aston Martin still made Cadillac look good. What Aston Martin is doing now is just, in my opinion, not acceptable.

"It's not F1 standard anymore. Having the local guy [Alonso] there, you're dead last by a mile, and then you don't even finish the race."

Based on reports, Honda's power unit has been ranked as the worst by the FIA, giving it the opportunity to introduce internal combustion upgrades through Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO).

"I think they need more than ADUO," commented Steiner.