Fernando Alonso responds to Stroll over ‘four second’ Aston Martin deficit – roundup
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso are entering their fourth season as Aston Martin teammates
Sunday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Fernando Alonso responding to Lance Stroll’s claim that the Aston Martin AMR26 is lacking four seconds of performance compared to its F1 2026 rivals.
Let’s blast through the day’s main headlines at breakneck speed…
Winners and losers from Bahrain F1 2026 testing
Williams was among the big winners from the second pre-season test of F1 2026 in Bahrain, PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher writes.
However, Aston Martin was listed as one of the losers following a troubling three days in which Lance Stroll claimed the AMR26 was more than four seconds off the pace.
The third and final winter test begins in Sakhir on Wednesday.
Read more: Winners and losers from the first Bahrain test
Fernando Alonso estimates true Aston Martin deficit after Lance Stroll claim
Fernando Alonso says it is “difficult to know” how far behind Aston Martin is at this early stage of the F1 2026 season.
And he claimed that the team could “unlock seconds” of performance just by optimising the Honda-powered AMR26 car.
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey admitted ahead of Bahrain testing that the team “started from behind” with the AMR26, claiming delays in getting the car in the wind tunnel last year “put us on the back foot by about four months.”
Read more: Alonso responds after Stroll claims Aston Martin ‘needs four seconds of performance’
Fernando Alonso data confirms sizeable deficit with F1 2026 cars
Telemetry data from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin has revealed that the new F1 2026 cars are a massive 50km/h slower at the apex of Turn 12 than the 2025 machines.
The new F1 2026 cars have received a lukewarm response so far following F1’s move to 50 per cent electrification.
PlanetF1.com data analyst Uros Radovanovic found similar concerns in the data of Lando Norris’s McLaren and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Read more: Eye-opening Fernando Alonso telemetry data as 50km/h speed deficit emerges
George Russell hints at Ferrari advantage in F1 2026 race starts
Mercedes driver George Russell says Ferrari could have an advantage in race start in F1 2026, with the team’s use of higher gears suggesting the SF-26 has a smaller turbo than rival engine manufacturers.
Race starts have emerged as a hot topic this week amid calls for a prolonged start procedure following the removal of the MGU-H – a key component in minimising turbo lag – for 2026.
Ferrari has historically completed with a smaller turbo than its competitors.
Read more: George Russell suggests Ferrari may hold edge in F1 2026 race starts
How active aero dictated Pirelli’s F1 2026 tyre development
Pirelli boss Mario Isola has explained how active aerodynamics became a key consideration in the manufacturer’s development of its new tyre range for F1 2026.
The shape-shifting F1 cars between 2026 allow drivers to switch between high and low-downforce configurations at different parts of the track.
Switching from straight mode to corner mode ahead of the braking zone leads to a considerable spike in the downforce level, putting a strain on the tyres.
Read more: How violent F1 2026 downforce spikes complicated Pirelli’s tyre brief
