Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso resort to "Aston Martin championship" battle in Japan

Aston Martin is bottom of the 2026 F1 standings and its drivers are often only fighting each other

Lance Stroll reckons he and Fernando Alonso have been left in their “own Aston Martin championship” after a poor start to the 2026 Formula 1 campaign.

The Silverstone outfit is bottom of the standings after three rounds, having encountered a myriad of problems from chassis to power unit amid its continuously rotating management structure.

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Its struggles with the Honda power unit have been the most discussed, as excessive engine vibrations have led to several battery failures and limited track mileage for Aston.

In Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, for example, Stroll retired after 30 laps due to a water pressure issue but was actually having fun up to that point despite battling with his team-mate at the back of the pack.

That fight included the Canadian overtaking Alonso early on, before also jumping Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas via a cheap tyre change during the lap-23 safety car - but it meant very little in the grand scheme of things.

So when asked to sum up the contest, Stroll told F1 TV: “Not great, but I was having a fun race with Fernando in our own little championship, our own Aston Martin championship.

“I was enjoying the race even though we were slow and we were fighting for the last positions. Suzuka, it’s always a nice track to drive so I was enjoying my laps out there and a shame we couldn’t make it to the end.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

Stroll reported the vibration issues as being “not great” and he even struggled to pinpoint any progress his AMR26 has made since the Melbourne opener.

But Alonso was a little more upbeat, having greeted the chequered flag for the first time this year: he completed just 21 laps in Australia, before retiring after 32 tours a week later at Shanghai.

“We got to Australia 100% sure that we could not finish the race,” said the two-time F1 champion. “The following week in China, 95% convinced we could not finish the race and now in race three, we finish.

“It's not the pace that we want, but there is some progress and some work in the team to keep improving. So, yeah, hopefully the first step for everyone to motivate both factories to keep improving.”