Lawrence Stroll has privately accepted that making Adrian Newey team boss was a mistake

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Aston Martin’s performance at the Chinese Grand Prix is once again underlining the depth of their problems. It’s said that Lawrence Stroll is already regretting his leadership choices.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified 19th and 21st respectively on Saturday, with the latter beaten by Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac. Damningly, even Alonso was 1.7 seconds shy of the time he needed to make Q2.

Alonso and Stroll had finished 17th and 18th in the Sprint with the aid of three retirements. They finished 10 seconds outside the points in the 19-lap race.

Kimi Antonelli will lead the grid in the 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix

Predict one driver to spring a surprise in Shanghai on Sunday!

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Lawrence Stroll is realising that he shouldn’t have appointed Adrian Newey team principal

Aston Martin have largely blamed Honda for their desperate situation. They say the Japanese power unit simply isn’t functioning as it should.

Adrian Newey’s chassis, in isolation, is apparently one of the top five on the grid. But despite his world-renowned design expertise, his suitability for a leadership role remains in doubt.

Newey hasn’t attended the Chinese Grand Prix, a reminder that his working methods differ from every other team principal.

Have Aston Martin already ‘completely ruined’ their relationship with Honda?

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Based on a report this week, Newey’s ‘cajoling’ of Honda is causing ‘internal frustration’ at Aston Martin.

Now, according to sport.de insider Felix Gorner, Stroll ‘realises’ that making Newey the boss was a ‘mistake’. He sided with the designer in a dispute with former team principal Andy Cowell.

The ‘disaster’ situation at Silverstone is ‘deeply affecting’ the Canadian businessman. Stroll is almost at ‘breaking point’, which has sparked rumours about a potential sale.

Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin will need ‘four months’ to pull away from Cadillac

Speaking to ESPN after qualifying, Alonso indicated that Aston Martin would be battling with Cadillac until June or July, such is the extent of their power deficit.

“It’ll take us about three, four months to pull away from the bottom group,” he said. “We have a huge power deficit.”

• READ MORE: Adrian Newey accused of exaggerating Aston Martin issues to get ‘preferential treatment’ from FIA

For a team who aimed to become title contenders in F1’s new era, this is nothing less than a devastating outcome.

In the immediate future, Alonso’s target is simply to finish Sunday’s race. He made it to lap 21 out of 58 in Melbourne, while Stroll completed 43 laps overall.