Lance Stroll left the F1 Chinese GP with a ninth place finish in the but is adamant Aston Martin have work to do.
The Canadian driver has started the season brilliantly, scoring points in both of the opening rounds, while his teammate Fernando Alonso is yet to see the chequered flag in 2025.
Stroll has made a step forward compared to previous years, but Aston Martin are lagging behind Haas in the Constructors’ Championship following a 14-point for Ayao Komatsu’s team in Shanghai.
Ninth place was inherited by Stroll after the chequered flag due to both Ferraris and Alpines Pierre Gasly getting disqualified due to technical infringements.
Lance Stroll feels Aston Martin are behind Haas
Haas were underwhelming in pre-season testing and at the first round in Australia but delivered fifth place in Shanghai with Esteban Ocon while Oliver Bearman battled to P8 with some decisive overtakes.
Stroll said in the print media zone after the race that he struggled on the medium tyres and he was just slower than the two Haas cars. He had been ahead of Bearman in the first stint but got undercut. In the end it mattered not as the VF-25 had far superior tyre degradation.
“We just got on the mediums, grained the tyres right away, and just didn’t have the pace to work our way up through the field.
“They were much faster than us in the race today. Ocon finished 20 seconds in front of us.”
They are behind where they want to be but are putting the building blocks in place for future success with an all-new wind tunnel and designer Adrian Newey joining the team at the start of this season.
Aston Martin have “a lot of work on” to consistently score points
Aston Martin have been floundering in the midfield for the past couple of seasons after Alonso scored six podiums in the first eight races in 2023.
They are welcoming Honda engines in an exclusive deal for 2026 to become a works team, coinciding with the introduction of new rules.
This may help the Silverstone-based team climb the order, but it is a step into the unknown for Aston Martin who are still yet to win a race in their current guise.
Stroll said that Aston Martin must improve: “I think we have a lot to work on for sure if we want to finish in the points comfortably going forward.”
