F1 News: Lance Stroll issues bleak Honda statement after Aston Martin upgrade: 'It's a lottery'

Aston Martin

Lance Stroll issues bleak Honda statement after Aston Martin upgrade: 'It's a lottery'

Well, that's not what we'd hoped for...

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 23 August 2026 21:30

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Lance Stroll criticised Honda's vaunted engine upgrade for the Dutch Grand Prix after two days of running the new power unit package.

The Canadian driver said he felt 'not nearly enough' of a step forward in performance from the previous package, after falling out of qualifying in Q1 once again in Zandvoort.

Subsequent to these comments, Stroll failed to finish the Dutch Grand Prix, picking up early damage and struggling all afternoon before parking the car.

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While he and team-mate Fernando Alonso were both ahead of both Cadillacs, a Haas and a Williams, Stroll called out the inconsistent traits of the new engine – and what he called 'a lot of issues'.

Honda and Aston Martin are hoping to optimise their overall package further for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next time out in order to drag another couple of tenths of a second out of the upgrade, especially crucial at such a power-critical circuit.

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Stroll: New Honda engine has a lot of issues

Asked by The Race if he had felt a step forward this weekend, Stroll said: “Not so much, I think. Maybe a bit, but not nearly enough.”

He continued: “On the chassis side, I think we're quite good. We made a big step in Budapest. The drivability and the power is the next thing we need to really work on.”

On that drivability, he added: “Not good, not good. It's a lottery. Right now, we're just not getting the consistent engine braking, going into the corner and a lot of rejected downshifts. So, yeah, a lot of issues.”

Alonso reacts to Honda engine upgrade

Stroll's veteran team-mate Fernando Alonso struck a much more positive tone though, saying: “Piastri P1 in Q1 was 1.3 seconds in front of us – we used to be 4.5 seconds average on the gap to the leader, so we improved three seconds in two races.

"This is amazing. Everything is working as expected, but this is a tough sport. You need to always keep improving.”

On the improvements still needed from the power unit, he added: “Unfortunately, here on the track side, there is not much we can do. We need to rely on some big changes in the factory or software or whatever is needed.

"This has to come from Japan, so it's not from one day to the next. It's more towards Monza where we need to find another step there. There are a couple of tenths to optimise in the package.”

Alonso's optimism appears to have been correctly held, as he drove a solid race to pick up two points for ninth place.

F1 RESULTS: Full times, finishing positions and penalties from Dutch Grand Prix

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F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll Honda