Warning from Formula 1 veteran Martin Brundle: Aston Martin management at a loss

Normally, it is the underdogs’ moment to shine when the weather gods make life difficult for the Formula 1 teams and their stars with their capriciousness. Many had therefore hoped that Aston Martin’s notoriously poor performances in the rain at São Paulo would be closer to those of their rivals. After all, the Green team also have Fernando Alonso, one of the best drivers on the grid, on their side.

But the hoped-for points finish failed to materialise – even though the two-time world champion was able to storm off from eighth on the fourth row of the grid thanks to a strong lap in qualifying and the grid penalties handed to some of his rivals. In the end, however, the proud Asturian came away empty-handed, crossing the line in twelfth place, a lap down.

The Spaniard fared better than his Canadian team-mate, however. Lance Stroll was forced to retire his Grand Prix car before the chequered flag for the 14th time this season. In the 20th Grand Prix, this was the 21st retirement the Silverstone-based team had had to endure. And as if that weren’t bad enough, Honda’s chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara, admitted after the race that resolving the recent battery issues could take several weeks.

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle, who commentates on the action in the premier class for the British pay-TV channel ‘Sky Sports F1’, spoke to team owner Lawrence Stroll in Brazil. Speaking about him, the Briton said: “We’ve spoken to the boss, Lawrence Stroll, about it. And he’s at his wits’ end. He doesn’t know what to do about the endless reliability issues and the resulting retirements.”

Brundle suspects the team will have to make some difficult decisions to improve the situation for 2027: “What are they doing for next year? Do they have new ideas and new people to sort out their problems – those with the battery, the energy recovery system and the power deficit? This problem is currently plaguing Aston Martin; they need to ask themselves what they intend to do now.”

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