Brundle on Stroll’s frustration amid Aston Martin’s Honda reliability crisis
Martin Brundle has disclosed that Lawrence Stroll is ‘at his wit’s end’ following Aston Martin’s latest non-finish in 2026 during the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll was compelled to retire his AMR26 midway through the Sunday race at Interlagos due to a suspected battery malfunction.
The Candian racing driver endured his 13th non-finish in the 20 races contested so far this season.
With three rounds remaining, another non-finish, which appears increasingly probable given the Silverstone-based team’s current form, would see the 28-year-old match Formula 1’s long-standing all-time record of 14 retirements in a single season, a mark currently held by Andrea de Cesaris in 1986 and 1987 for Minardi and Brabham, respectively.
Brundle revealed that he had conversed with team owner Lawrence Stroll prior to the race and found him ‘at his wit’s end’ regarding Aston Martin’s ongoing reliability issues.
“We were talking to Lawrence Stroll, the boss, about it. He’s at his wit’s end, he doesn’t know what to do about these endless reliability issues and non-finishes in the team,” he said on Sky Sports F1’s Sao Paulo GP broadcast coverage.
“What are they going to do for next year? Have they got different ideas, different people to sort the problem out? Where the battery pack, the ERS, the energy recovery system and just the power deficit they’ve got.
“That’s the problem Aston Martin have at the moment: Where do they go from here?”
Honda has yet to identify the precise cause of Stroll’s retirement.
Honda makes grim Aston Martin confession after F1 Sao Paulo GP DNF
The start to Formula 1’s latest era has been challenging for Honda. Aston Martin secured a works partnership with Red Bull’s former engine supplier, but reality has struck both parties hard.
The 2026 Honda power unit has proven significantly less competitive than its rivals, and reliability has emerged as a primary concern.
Following the race at Interlagos, Honda trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara admitted that they remain uncertain about the root cause of Stroll’s non-finish.
“We had another battery issue today on Lance’s car. We know what happened, but we don’t know what is the root cause,” he said.
“We will check the data and also we will check the battery, and it may take a few weeks to find the root cause.
“But from the data we need to find some countermeasure for next year and also we need find the actual root cause of this error for next year, otherwise we keep having the same issue, so this is quite important for us to understand what is the root cause.”
Heading into the Las Vegas GP, Aston Martin occupies 10th place in the Constructors’ standings, sitting only above Cadillac, which has endured an equally difficult 2026 with no Formula 1 championship points to its name.
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