Aston Martin endured a difficult season finishing in the midfield last year, after both drivers struggled to regularly finish in the points.
It was a big contrast to their 2023 season when Fernando Alonso finished on the podium eight times, becoming the only non-Red Bull driver to achieve the feat.
Last year the team struggled to keep up with rivals after Aston Martin engineers identified a problem with their car late in the season, leading to them needing to rethink their car concept.
Lance Stroll’s performance also dropped off as a result of the poor car performance, leading some to question whether he still has the motivation to continue in F1. Fans of the team are convinced that Aston Martin needs to let Stroll go before they start to think about winning titles, as the team looks in good shape for 2026.
Adrian Newey has come on board as a technical chief alongside former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell, who has now taken up the role of team principal. Discussing what this means for their driver lineup for the future on The Race F1 podcast, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm thinks it could see a clash of some senior figures within their leadership.
Aston Martin on ‘collision course’ for clash over future driver lineup
With Stroll being the son of Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll, it makes sense that they would want to keep him onboard despite his poor performances.
Stroll only scored 24 points last year compared to Alonso’s 70 points, with the Canadian also costing them valuable points in 2023 the previous season. Mitchell-Malm believes the leadership at Aston Martin will face a tough decision in the future if he doesn’t improve.
“Right now, Lance isn’t the main limitation on what Aston Martin wants to achieve. If everything comes together the way they want in 2026/27, then the driver pairing will become a limitation at some point,” said Mitchell-Malm.
“People like Newey and Cowell operate too practically to ignore that. So if they don’t have the decision-making power, you would imagine there is a collision course that both sides within the leadership are on.”
F1 paddock delivers brutal verdict on Lance Stroll
A recent report claimed that Newey thinks Stroll is not ‘good enough’ and that he wants a younger driver to take up the role alongside Alonso.
Newey is partially taking a role in their pursuit of Max Verstappen, who the team publically denied they were pursuing earlier in January.
Many on the F1 paddock are doubting Stroll’s ‘qualities’ as a driver, considering his experience and lack of progress in recent years.
One option could see him moved over to their WEC programme, should Aston Martin elect to replace him before Alonso leaves the team.
