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Fernando Alonso has delivered a measured but telling assessment of Aston Martin's current trajectory, acknowledging that any meaningful performance step for the AMR26 will have to wait until upgrades arrive around the summer break. The two-time World Champion was speaking in the aftermath of the Canadian Grand Prix, a weekend that produced both encouraging signs and familiar frustrations for the Silverstone-based outfit.
Alonso had started Sunday's race from P19 on the grid — a deeply unrepresentative position for a driver of his calibre — yet immediately demonstrated his racecraft by climbing into the top 10 in the opening laps. The bold strategic call to start on soft tyres, while several rivals gambled on intermediates and were forced to pit early, gave Aston Martin a brief window of opportunity. It was a smart read of the conditions, and for a short time it paid off.
"We had a good start and we were fighting into the top 10 positions," said Alonso. "We made the right call starting on the soft tyres, with a few others opting for intermediates and then having to pit early. Unfortunately, we had an issue with the seat in the race, so we decided to retire the car."
The retirement on Lap 23 — caused by a seat issue — ended what had briefly looked like a points-scoring opportunity. Nevertheless, Alonso was quick to highlight that the raw pace in Montreal felt notably stronger than in Miami, even without any new hardware on the car.
"We seemed to be faster here than we were in Miami with the same package," he noted. "We need to wait for performance to come with our upgrades around the summer break, but we will look to keep optimising this package until then."
With the European season kicking off in the Principality on June 5–7, Alonso sees the Monaco Grand Prix as a circuit that could naturally suit Aston Martin's current limitations. The reduced emphasis on raw straight-line speed at one of the slowest tracks on the calendar could work in the team's favour.
"Monaco is next — a very different circuit, very slow," Alonso acknowledged. "The engine will be a little bit less important there, so maybe extra hope for Monaco."
It is worth noting that the Monaco GP will also be the first 2026 race without straight mode activation zones, a regulatory change that could further reshape the competitive order at a circuit where mechanical grip and setup precision traditionally matter most.
On the other side of the Aston Martin garage, Lance Stroll offered a more blunt summary of proceedings in his home race. The Canadian driver crossed the line in P15 after struggling for grip and straight-line pace throughout, with tyre temperature management proving a persistent issue.
"It's been a difficult weekend in Montreal," Stroll admitted. "We couldn't get the temperatures we needed into the tyres and we were struggling for grip throughout the race. We didn't have the pace we needed on the straights either. The car performance isn't where we need it to be and there's still a lot of work to do to get us there."
The contrast between Alonso's cautious optimism and Stroll's candid frustration paints a clear picture of where Aston Martin stands: a team that is slowly stabilising after a difficult start to the season, but one that knows the real reckoning will come when the summer upgrades finally arrive.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.