Lance Stroll delivers Aston Martin vow as F1 testing nightmare ends

Lance Stroll has vowed to help Aston Martin to "keep pushing flat out to unlock more performance" following a dismal 2026 pre-season testing.

Across the three tests in Barcelona and Bahrain, Stroll completed just 139 laps in the AMR26 machine as Honda power unit woes hampered running.

On Thursday, team-mate Fernando Alonso stopped with an engine failure with three-and-a-half hours remaining in the day, but he did not emerge as Honda issued a statement saying there was an issue with the battery.

The Canadian was only able to complete "short runs" as a result, with just six laps being added to his tally before the team announced its testing programme was completed.

In total, Aston Martin completed 394 laps in total in testing, with it firmly being in last place in the pecking order heading to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. 

However, Stroll is determined to help lead the team to better showings alongside Alonso.

"It’s been a challenging couple of weeks here in Bahrain, and today’s limited running wasn’t the way we wanted to finish the second test," said Stroll. 

"It’s clear the car isn’t where we want it to be performance-wise, and we know there’s a lot of work ahead in the coming weeks and months. There’s a long season ahead, and we’ll keep pushing flat out to unlock more performance.

"I want to say a big thank you to everyone trackside and back at the AMRTC for the work that’s gone in so far. 

"It’s not where we want to be right now, but I know how determined this team is. 

"We’ll stick together, rise to the challenge and keep working until we deliver the performance we are looking for."