Guenther Steiner: Aston Martin has "no excuse" for poor 2026 F1 season start

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has said there is no excuse for Aston Martin's poor start to the 2026 season.

The Silverstone outfit entered the 2026 season with a new power unit partnership with Honda, and with the first car designed under the leadership of Adrian Newey, who joined the team in 2025 as managing technical partner. But the high expectations from inside and outside the paddock were not met after the team struggled with major issues with the car and power unit. 

After the first four rounds of the season, Aston Martin sits last in the constructors' standings with zero points.

While discussing the Lawrence Stroll-led team's position during The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner pointed to the extensive investment from the Canadian businessman, including high-profile hires such as Newey and a new state-of-the-art headquarters and wind tunnel.

"For sure, an opportunity. How big? We need to find out," Steiner explained when asked how important the five-week break would have been for Aston Martin.

"Nobody expected them to come to this season as ill-prepared as they came. Because they've got everything in place. They've got the people, they've got the facility, they've got the money.

"So, there is no excuse for them to be in this position."

Guenther Steiner, Miami Grand Prix Ambassador

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The Miami Grand Prix came after an unexpected April break due to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix, giving teams the opportunity to get back to the factory. Refinements to the regulations were also confirmed during the break.

Unlike the majority of teams on the grid, Aston Martin chose to bring no performance-based upgrades to its cars for the Florida race. Instead, it chose to focus on reliability. For the first time this season, both cars finished Sunday's race.

"We don't have performance upgrades yet," Fernando Alonso said ahead of the race. "So hopefully we can feel less vibrations on the steering wheel and on the cockpit and have a better race."