Lance Stroll didn’t hold back after the Dutch Grand Prix, calling Honda’s latest engine upgrade a “lottery” and admitting the performance boost just wasn’t there. The Aston Martin driver struggled all weekend, crashing out of Q1 and later retiring from the race with early damage.
Speaking to reporters, Stroll made it clear the new power unit didn’t deliver what the team had hoped for. “Not so much, maybe a bit, but not nearly enough,” he said when asked if he felt a step forward. He pointed to ongoing drivability problems, describing the engine braking as inconsistent and noting “a lot of rejected downshifts.”
For Stroll, the unpredictability has turned each lap into a gamble.
While the Canadian was blunt, teammate Fernando Alonso struck a more optimistic tone. The veteran Spaniard highlighted how much the overall package has improved, noting the gap to the leader shrank from 4. 5 seconds to just 1.
3 seconds in two races. “This is amazing,” Alonso said, though he acknowledged the power unit still needs work—and that those fixes have to come from Honda’s factory in Japan.
Alonso backed up his words with a solid drive to ninth place, scoring two points for Aston Martin. Stroll, meanwhile, couldn’t finish after picking up early damage and battling all afternoon.
Now the team turns its focus to Monza, a high-speed circuit where every tenth of a second counts. Honda and Aston Martin are reportedly aiming to squeeze out a couple more tenths from the upgrade by the Italian Grand Prix. But with Stroll’s frustration and Alonso’s cautious hope, the question remains: can they turn this lottery into a winning ticket?
