Aston Martin 'look four seconds off top teams'

Lance Stroll says Aston Martin are four seconds off the pace in the run-up to the new Formula 1 season.

The new car, created under the leadership of design legend Adrian Newey, has struggled for both pace and reliability so far in pre-season testing.

The Canadian was 5.2 seconds off the pace when he drove the car at the start of the first Bahrain pre-season test on Wednesday.

Team-mate Fernando Alonso ended Thursday 3.975secs off the best time and 14th fastest out of 15 drivers running.

Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, said: "Right now we look like we're four seconds off the top teams, four and a half seconds.

"Impossible to know what fuel loads and everything people are running. But now we need to try and find four seconds of performance."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the pace with a lap of one minute 34.273 seconds, 0.511secs ahead of world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren

Headline lap times in pre-season testing are notoriously unreliable as accurate predictors of genuine form, but Aston Martin are under no illusions about the struggle they have on their hands.

Stroll said it was "just a difference in grip and performance", and asked how the team would improve, he said: "I don't think it falls from the sky. I think you have to improve and find performance in the car and the engine."

The Aston Martin design was described by Newey at the team's launch earlier this week as "one of the more extreme interpretations" of this year's new rules, and it has drawn admiring glances from rivals.

But so far the car has not shown any signs of performance, and the same can be said of the new engine designed by Honda, who have switched to Aston Martin this year from Red Bull.

The 27-year-old admitted that "a big part" of the car's problems came from the engine. Asked whether there was anything positive he could say about the car, he said: "The livery looks nice."

On Newey's role as team principal, a position he took on in November in addition to being managing technical partner, Stroll said: "He's all about performance. He's just obsessed about how he can bring more performance to the car and he's a great leader overall."

Newey joined Aston Martin only in March last year and the team have been careful to play down expectations for their first season as a works team.

Stroll said: "We are where we are. Do we want to fight for race wins? Yes. Are we fighting for race wins today? Doesn't look like it. Does that mean we can't fight for race wins in the future? No, I believe we can.

"I don't have a crystal ball. It doesn't look like it's amazing."

1. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari, one minute 34.273 seconds

2. Lando Norris (GB) McLaren, +0.511

3. Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas, +1.121

4. George Russell (GB) Mercedes, +1.193

5. Isack Hadjar (Fra) Red Bull, +2.288

6. Gabriel Bortoleto (Brz) Audi, +2.397

7. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine, +2.450

8. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Cadillac, +2.551

9. Alex Albon (Tha) Williams, +2.956

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Audi, +2.993

11. Arvid Lindblad (GB) Racing Bulls, +3.197

12. Carlos Sainz (Spa) Williams, +3.319

13. Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing Bulls, +3.744

14. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin, +3.975

15. Sergio Perez (Mex) Cadillac, +4.380

16) Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes, no time set

Drivers who did not run on Thursday:

Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull

Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin

Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas

Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine

Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari

Oscar Piastri (Aus) – McLaren