Eleven retirements. Zero points. One full race distance. That is Lance Stroll’s 2026 so far, and his team is still fighting the narrative around him.
Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, has pushed back on the suggestion that Stroll has lost his drive, pointing to his simulator calendar as the evidence.
“On Tuesday, which is two days ago, he was on the simulator for almost the entire day. Not only working on the next car, but preparing this event and even going into some different directions,” Krack said.
Aston Martin has scored seven points all season, and every one of them has come through Fernando Alonso.
Read also: Patrick Mahomes breaks silence after tragic death of former Chiefs teammate aged 37
Lap seven in Baku, and a word with the marshal
The paddock footage from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 26 did not help Stroll’s image.
He pulled the AMR26 off the circuit at Turn 15 on lap seven with a water pressure failure, his 10th retirement at that point and part of Aston Martin’s fourth double DNF of 2026 after similar collapses in China, Spain and Italy.
Fan video then caught him at the paddock fence, declining the long walkaround that Baku’s street layout normally demands of early retirees.
“I’m not waiting here until the end of the session. I’m out of here,” Stroll told the marshal.
Read also: Michael Laudrup unloads on PSG’s chainsaw tifo: ‘Below all criticism’
“Give me the radio.”
Asked about the retirement, he was blunt about the car.
“We’re going to be having many more of these conversations because we’re not bringing many upgrades this year.”
The upgrade decision Aston Martin stuck with
That line referred to a strategic call the team made earlier in the year: Delay significant upgrades on the AMR26 and spend the resources on the 2027 project. Krack conceded at the time that the trade-off was taking a toll inside the garage.
Read also: Kyle Walker breaks silence on Manchester City tattoo controversy amid title-stripping threat
“I agree with you. It is weighing on everyone. You can feel it,” he said earlier in the season.
“You can feel it in the garage. You can feel it especially with the drivers.”
Krack also warned that more power or more downforce would not fix the underlying problem. In his view, the drivability of the new Honda power unit, the shifting and the way the drivetrain reacts under load cannot be patched mid-season.
“Any issue that you have with this will not be solved. Just by putting a bit more power or a bit more downforce. These problems will persist.”
Read also: Zverev inherits year-end world No. 1 as Sinner’s silent summer closes without a return
Stroll is contracted to continue alongside Alonso in 2027, their fifth consecutive season as teammates.
Read also: Report: Arsenal open talks for Atletico Madrid star – but Simeone has other plans
