Lance Stroll’s race last Sunday at the Miami GP provided a measured but informative snapshot into Aston Martin’s ongoing challenges in the 2026 F1 season. He finished 17th.
Instead of concentrating only on performance, the team viewed the GP as a chance to gather data. They experimented with different strategies, and ultimately, they aimed to finish a full race distance. This has proven challenging throughout this early stage of their 2026 F1 season.
Experimental strategy in Miami
In the print media pen after the race, the Canadian driver openly acknowledged the experimental nature of the team’s approach and tyre strategy by using softs.
“I don’t know what we did, yeah. I think we tried to get some free air. Not sure,” Stroll said.
When asked whether the intention was to simply accumulate laps and collect data, he added, “I guess so, yeah.”
Reduced vibrations but ongoing issues in F1 2026 for Aston Martin
The team opted to use two sets of soft tyres as part of a larger strategy to assess the AMR26’s performance over a complete GP distance. This was a length that Stroll had not yet achieved this season. There was some positive gains from the race, such as reduced vibration issues. This problem had been of concern earlier in the weekend.
“There was less vibrations, yeah,” Stroll confirmed, though he acknowledges that some still remained.
Stroll made good progress on the opening lap of the 2026 F1 Miami GP. In fact, he overtook a few cars before an early mistake suspended his momentum as he made an error at turn 17.
“Yeah, and then I had a lock-up, went off entering the last corner on the first stint,” he said.
Mileage over performance at 2026 Miami GP
From that point, the race became a matter of gaining track time, rather than competing for race position.
“And then it was just like, yeah, just getting some kilometres in the car. First time we completed the race, so that was good.”
When Stroll was directly asked whether he had learned anything from the race. Stroll paused, then answered with bluntness: “Not much.”
Looking ahead to Montreal and a home F1 race for Stroll
The attention now turns to Montreal, the next race on the 2026 F1 calendar. Here, Stroll will face the challenge of competing at his home race. He must do this with a car that remains tricky to manage.
When questioned about whether the situation was frustrating, he kept his answer calm and composed.
“Yeah, it is what it is. We will see how we go.”
Although Miami did not bring a gain in performance for Aston Martin, it did bring something that the team has lacked. They gained a complete race’s worth of data. Whether this data translates into progress remains to be seen as the team prepares for Canada.
