Lawrence Stroll could be ‘losing interest’ in F1 with Aston Martin sale rumours emerging

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Aston Martin’s terrible start to the 2026 Formula 1 season could end up being a turning point in Lawrence Stroll’s ownership of the team.

Lawrence Stroll led a consortium that took over Force India in 2018, before renaming the team Racing Point.

Coincidentally, his son, Lance Stroll, raced for Racing Point at the time, and in 2021, the team were rebranded Aston Martin.

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Stroll’s ownership of the team has never lacked ambition, with world champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso convinced to join the team, as well as current team principal Adrian Newey.

However, pre-season testing has suggested that the 2026 season could be a disaster for Aston Martin.

Newey has no immediate solution for Aston Martin being the slowest team in the paddock in Bahrain, and Peter Hardenacke has started to hear rumours about Stroll’s commitment to the project.

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Aston Martin takeover talks being discussed ‘behind the scenes’ amid poor start to 2026 F1 season

Hardenacke was speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast with Ralf Schumacher about the state of the Aston Martin team.

He explained: “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes in Formula 1.

“There were rumours that the Saudis wanted to buy Aston Martin, right? Lawrence of Arabia would have been Lawrence Stroll, and even now, you still hear a lot about how there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

“American investors who are also interested in Formula 1 at Renault, of course, Horner’s name keeps coming up, but there are also other players who are probably interested.

“That’s what I heard again last week. Do you think Aston Martin could be another case of Lawrence losing interest? Formula 1 is perhaps at its peak, saying, ‘Okay, thank you, goodbye.’

READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey

Ralf Schumacher says Lawrence Stroll ‘isn’t very helpful’ in fixing Aston Martin’s problems

Stroll was said to be personally overseeing Honda’s work before testing started, as Aston Martin would have already had an inkling that they were way behind where they needed to be before the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

The Japanese engine manufacturer was running out of parts in Bahrain, and reflecting on their awful start to 2026, Schumacher said: “Whether he [Newey] made a mistake is open to question, because the wind tunnel wasn’t working or delivered incorrect results, so that had to be addressed first.

“But I also think it’s a fact that Lawrence Stroll’s approach isn’t very helpful, if that’s really the case. So we need to stay calm now, because otherwise a team like this will really fall apart before it has even started.

“Newey is more than financially independent. The same applies to Stroll, of course, and the same applies to Fernando Alonso, and if the three of them don’t stick together, then that will be a problem.

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“They absolutely have to. I would say that Lance Stroll is still playing a minor role, and as far as Honda is concerned, I can imagine that they are being very critical about the issue internally, but something needs to be done now to support the team.

“In my opinion, this needs to be made official. Honda must now step forward and say, ‘OK, this is a huge disaster, we made a mistake. It will take this long, and the team will need this much patience with us.’

“I believe this communication is urgently needed.”

Honda have come out and talked about the work going on behind the scenes to try and address the troubling situation that unfolded in Bahrain.

However, if Stroll can no longer see a route to the top of either championship with Aston Martin, he has to start thinking about whether now is the right time to cash in on the team.

F1’s popularity has reached an unprecedented level, and he may look at the deal Toto Wolff struck when selling some of his Mercedes shares and wonder if he should follow suit.