Montreal, QC – With Aston Martin’s Formula 1 car missing the mark in 2026, Canadian driver Lance Stroll arrived at his home grand prix with a different mindset.
Rather than chasing the front runners, Stroll and the Aston Martin team continue to fight not to finish last in races, something that will likely remain the case in Sunday’s 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
That stark reality, refocusing his efforts and revising his goals for 2026, and not expecting a breakthrough race at home means that the team will instead be looking to find solutions to its performance issues.
“I still try to enjoy the journey of developing the car and spending time with engineers – I’m fortunate enough to spend time with [team principal] Adrian [Newey], who’s the best in history in making F1 cars,” said Stroll. “One day I hope for us to be here – next year, whenever it is – having a very different conversation about the perspective of where we are as a team. I know we’re not competitive, I accept it, it’s the truth, but I’m staying in the process with the engineers of working on the car and improving things and still excited and motivated because I believe the future is bright for this team.”
Aston Martin’s troubles under the new regulations started early as it discovered some teething issues with its chassis and engine combination in preseason testing when severe vibrations caused the drivers’ hands to go numb after only a few laps. While the team continues to experience reliability issues, Stroll said it definitely made progress in some important areas since the season began.
“We fixed the vibrations in Miami, so that was good,” he said. “We finished the race [in Miami], both cars got to the checkered flag for the first time this season, which I think is a step forward. Now we just need to find a lot more downforce and power, so when we do that, we’ll be in better shape, so that’s what we’re focused on.”
For now, Stroll will try to take it race-by-race and keep his feet on the ground as the team works through its problems.
“You hope that you show up at the first test in Bahrain with the magic car, with the magic idea like [eventual world champions] Brawn GP had in 2009 and you’re one second faster than everyone,” he said. “That’s every driver’s dream, but a lot of the time the reality is that Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and maybe McLaren as well have a history of always being at the front, and for the rest of the teams, some years are great and some years are shit. Right now, it’s a bit shit for us and it’s not as much fun as racing at the front.”
On top of all that, the team’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack said in Montreal that Aston Martin will likely not bring any upgrades to its cars until the late-August Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break, so things likely won’t get better for Stroll anytime soon.
“These things don’t happen overnight,” said Stroll. “Everyone’s pushing as hard as possible, and we’re doing everything we can to bring as much lap time to the car as quickly as we can.”
On the flip side, a planned upgrade for the Mercedes should help it re-establish its early-season dominance, which waned a bit after both Ferrari and McLaren looked much quicker in the last race in Miami, where both brought some upgrades.
Mercedes swept the first four races of 2026, with Kimi Antonelli taking three consecutive victories after George Russell won the season opener in Australia. Although both Ferrari and McLaren closed the gap in Miami with their new bits, Russell hopes to widen the gap again.
“I’m hoping it’s going to be as competitive as what we saw the upgrades of McLaren and Ferrari brought in Miami,” said Russell. “They obviously took a decent step forward. Our numbers look pretty promising, but we know it may not correlate that way in reality. So there’s no science telling us it won’t be competitive, but as I said, until we drive it on track, there’s always going to be a few unknowns.”
The cars hit the track for the first time on Friday afternoon for a one-hour practice session at 12:30 p.m. ET before heading into qualifying for Saturday’s Sprint race late in the afternoon.
Check back with Inside Track for coverage throughout the weekend.