Lance Stroll dealt 'hard done by' verdict after just four Barcelona test laps

Former Aston Martin chief strategist Bernie Collins believes Lance Stroll will have felt "hard done by" to have completed only four laps in the official Barcelona shakedown test.

Aston Martin arrived late to the opening five-day test ahead of the 2026 F1 season, only emerging onto the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya towards the end of the fourth day.

Stroll was the first to exit the garage in the AMR26; however, his initial running in the new car concluded after just four laps.

Following a short shakedown, the Canadian reemerged onto the circuit but stopped in the final sector with 16 minutes remaining as a precaution.

That brought Stroll's running in Barcelona to an end, as Fernando Alonso was given the entirety of the final day of the test.

Alonso completed 61 laps in Adrian Newey's latest design, putting Stroll on the back foot ahead of the first of two three-day tests in Bahrain.

In Collins' eyes, it will have slightly frustrated Stroll to have completed so few laps, but he is confident Aston Martin will ensure its drivers have equal running by the end of pre-season testing.

Assessing Stroll's lack of Barcelona running compared to Alonso, Collins said on Sky F1: "I think he will feel a little bit hard done by; he would have wanted more laps in the car than that.

"But when they decided who was going to go first, or they drew straws, however they've managed it, it's a bit of luck of the draw.

"It's the same when you get a wet day. They'll maybe try to even out those laps in the later tests, if there's any possibility to do that. That will definitely be where Lance's sort of objective is.

"If the laps can be the other way around on the final day of Bahrain, he'll take that so he won't feel disheartened at this stage, because he knows it's just learning on the car, and not necessarily performance running."