LANCE STROLL SOUNDS ALARM AS ASTON MARTIN TRAILS LEADERS BY FOUR SECONDS
Aston Martin faces a 4-second deficit! Read Fernando Alonso’s response to Lance Stroll and the latest on Adrian Newey’s AMR26 today.
Fernando Alonso gets where Lance Stroll is coming from. When Stroll said Aston Martin needs to find four seconds with the AMR26, he wasn’t just throwing out numbers; there’s a real gap to close.
But Alonso looks at it a little differently. He thinks there’s still a lot of time to be found out on track, especially as drivers get used to these radically different F1 2026 cars. Aston Martin’s not exactly starting the season in an ideal spot, with the Australian Grand Prix coming up fast and the team still working to catch up.
Right now, everyone’s watching Aston Martin. You can’t blame them. Adrian Newey is in charge of car design, Honda’s coming in with a new works engine, and the team’s new factory and wind tunnel are finally part of the picture. On paper, they’ve got what they need to take a real shot at the championship down the line.
But as Bernie Collins, Aston Martin’s former strategy chief, said, this first season might be rough. They’re still putting all the pieces together.
Testing hasn’t exactly gone to plan, either. They didn’t light up the timing sheets in Bahrain, and things started slowly in Barcelona, with just 54 laps completed.
When Bahrain testing kicked off, Stroll only managed 36 laps on day one and said the team needs to find four seconds. “I don’t think it falls from the sky,” he admitted.
Alonso was asked about all this after the session.
Stroll finished his first day with a 1:39.883, and by the end of testing, he’d shaved it down to 1:38.165. Alonso’s best was a 1:38.248 on the second day.
When people asked Alonso how far behind Aston Martin really is, he shrugged. “Hard to say. Lance said four-and-a-half seconds because that’s how far off we were in Barcelona, and it was about the same in the first two days in Bahrain. So, yeah, there’s a trend, but I don’t really know. Yesterday, I made a mistake in Turn 4, but I still improved by eight tenths by the end of the lap. That shows how many mistakes we’re making every lap right now.
“Sometimes, just changing one setting swings the lap time by eight-tenths up or down. It’s not like we need to find just two tenths. If we optimise things, we could unlock seconds.
“So, let’s see what next week brings. We’re realistic; we won’t be the fastest in Melbourne. We started slow, and we’re still behind, but it’s tough to say exactly where we’ll end up.”
Aston Martin, along with the other nine teams, still has three days of testing left in Bahrain before the season officially kicks off in Australia.
For Alonso, every bit of track time matters right now.
During testing, people pointed out he’d been locking up for three or four laps straight, including a big one. They asked if that’s the kind of challenge he’s facing in the car.
“Yes and no,” he said. “It’s one of the issues, but don’t forget, this is the first time we’ve ever built our own gearbox. First time ever in the history of the team.
“It’s a real challenge, and we need to get better. We need more data. First time building the gearbox, the differential, the clutch – all of it.
“So when we go out, and the downshifts feel rough or whatever, we come back, tweak a few settings, and head back out. Before, we used Mercedes engines and gearboxes, and everything was already sorted. Now, it’s all new for us. That’s why this testing time is so important; we need it to get better.”
KIMI ANTONELLI LEADS F1; GEORGE RUSSELL DROPS TO FOURTH AFTER FRUSTRATING P4 FINISH AT SUZUKA
Kimi Antonelli leads the F1 championship! Discover why George Russell is under fire, and Max Verstappen is eyeing a Mercedes seat.
Heading into 2026, everyone had George Russell pegged as the clear favourite for the F1 drivers’ title. Now, Kimi Antonelli is the one stealing the spotlight.
Russell’s in the toughest spot of his Mercedes career, and every time his 19-year-old teammate lays down another blistering lap, the pressure ramps up.
Back-to-back wins in China and Japan haven’t just made Antonelli a real threat for the championship hey’ve totally changed the vibe in the Mercedes garage. Suddenly, everyone’s looking at Russell differently.
It’s a harsh reality. Russell’s now 28, this is his fifth season with Mercedes, and before the season, the bookies put him at the top. But things haven’t gone his way: car problems and Antonelli off to a flying start have made life as the team’s “senior driver” anything but easy.
Antonelli is leading the championship with 97 points; he’s 22 clear of Russell, and he’s won two of the season’s first three races.
The pressure on Russell goes deeper than just being outscored by his teammate. The clock’s ticking, and the spectre of Max Verstappen isn’t going away.
Antonelli’s rise has been ruthless. He’s snagged a pole in both China and Japan. Every big result just confirms what some at Mercedes are starting to admit: he looks like the future, especially since he’s so good on the tough tyre compounds.
Antonelli himself isn’t pretending he’s the finished product. After his win in Japan, where he slipped back to sixth at the start, by the way, he said his launches off the line “definitely” need work. “It’s been a weak point this year, and I need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with that.” Still, he’s on top. After Japan, he said, “It’s too early to think about the championship, but we’re in a good way.” He’s ambitious, but grounded.
Russell, meanwhile, battled a rear suspension setup issue at Suzuka. Too much oversteer, not enough grip. Toto Wolff admitted the tweak “put the car on the nose” and hurt them on Sunday. Russell crossed the line fourth, losing more ground to Antonelli.
People are noticing the shift. Christian Danner, former F1 driver, reckons Russell’s going to fight back. Maybe he will. But as the points gap grows and each race builds Antonelli’s reputation, talk is cheap.
Here’s the wild card: Mercedes could go for Verstappen.
The four-time champ is sitting in ninth, with only 12 points after three rounds. That’s foreign territory for Max. With Red Bull floundering and upcoming 2026 rules causing headaches, he’s reportedly rethinking his future there.
Sure, Verstappen’s Red Bull contract goes through 2028. But there are performance clauses he can walk if he’s outside the top two by summer break. That’s not looking so far-fetched the way things are standing.
He’s called the new cars “fundamentally flawed.” Is he admitting he’s “seriously considering quitting Formula 1.” And last year? Mercedes and Verstappen’s people were in talks. It even held up Russell’s contract talks with Wolff.
If Verstappen comes on the market, you know Wolff’s going to take a serious look. He’s openly a fan. For Russell, that’s unsettling. If Mercedes keeps winning and Verstappen wants in, Russell’s seat isn’t safe.
Russell came to Mercedes back in 2022, expecting to be a title contender. He got his first win in São Paulo that year, and he’s been a reliable points finisher, fourth in the 2025 standings with 319 points, a personal best.
But being “reliable” doesn’t cut it when a teenager is beating you and a superstar like Verstappen could be about to knock on the door.
It’s only been three races, but Antonelli’s already ahead 2–1 in both qualifying and race results, and those two are poles and outright wins.
Wolff tried to pump up Russell before things got started, calling him “one of the best” and saying it was nice he was the bookies’ top pick. But Wolff also tipped Antonelli to step up in his second season. That’s already coming true.
Russell’s shot at a championship is getting slimmer by the week. If Antonelli keeps this up and if Verstappen’s name enters the mix, Mercedes has some massive decisions ahead.
At this point, Russell’s fighting for more than just a title. He’s fighting to prove he deserves a place at the top at all.
ZAK BROWN COMPLETES A "RED BULL HAT-TRICK" BY SIGNING GIANPIERO LAMBIASE FOR 2028
Zak Brown confirms GianPiero Lambiase joins McLaren as Chief Racing Officer. See how this impacts Red Bull and Verstappen.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has finally spoken up after landing GianPiero Lambiase as the team’s new Formula 1 Chief Racing Officer starting in 2028.
News of Lambiase’s move from Red Bull to McLaren has already got people buzzing in the paddock. And really, it’s a big deal that the reigning constructors’ champions just added another heavyweight to their ranks. First, Rob Marshall, known for his aerodynamic expertise, came on board. Then Will Courtenay, the former Head of Strategy, joined too. Now, Lambiase completes the trio.
We still don’t know exactly what Lambiase will be handling, but he’ll report to Team Principal Andrea Stella, who’s been rumoured to have caught Ferrari’s eye.
Brown couldn’t hide his excitement in his first public comments. He went on X to announce: “Happy to share that GianPiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting into Team Principal Andrea Stella, when his contract ends no later than 2028. He joins an incredible team under Andrea’s leadership, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”
Red Bull’s statement had a totally different vibe. The team confirmed Lambiase would leave in 2028, when his contract is up, but stopped short of saying when he could head over to McLaren. “GP is a valued member of the team, who joined in 2015. Until his planned departure, GP continues in his roles as head of racing and as race engineer to Max Verstappen. The team and he are fully committed to adding more success to our strong track record together.”
Honestly, Zak Brown is shaking things up in the F1 paddock. He’s snagging Red Bull’s big names, much like Christian Horner did to Mercedes when the ground effect era started. Lambiase’s decision to join McLaren really does feel like the end of an era for Red Bull.
