Lance Stroll retires in Belgium as Aston Martin suffer brutal Spa disaster

Lance Stroll’s Belgian Grand Prix lasted just 25 laps before he retired with a suspected gearbox issue as Aston Martin suffered one of their worst races of the 2026 season at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.

What happened in Spa?

Aston Martin lined up at the back of the grid in Belgium after both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were at least two seconds slower than every other car in qualifying. Sunday’s race delivered no reprieve. Alonso limped home in 19th and last among classified runners, the only driver lapped twice. Stroll’s race ended on Lap 25 with the gearbox gremlin.

The team’s struggles have been brutal all year. New regulations and fresh suppliers Honda have left the AMR26 among the slowest cars on the grid since Melbourne. Rivals like Cadillac have already rolled out updates, while Aston Martin have yet to bring a single upgrade to the track.

Mike Krack admits the pain

Aston Martin’s trackside chief Mike Krack called it a tough afternoon. “We did not have the pace to compete,” he said. “So we simply tried to maximise those things in our control: being strong operationally and delivering the best strategy.” Alonso’s 19th place and Stroll’s early exit summed up the day.

Krack also pointed to the Hungarian Grand Prix as the next chance to turn things around. “The focus now shifts to Budapest and introducing a new package for the AMR26,” he added.

Alonso eyes Budapest with fresh urgency

Fernando Alonso insisted every session in Hungary will be vital after the Belgian disaster. “We did our best today, but we knew our limitations this weekend,” he said. “We collected some valuable data and are now focused on Budapest. We will need to maximise all of our practice sessions next weekend and learn as much as we can about the new package.”

So far in 2026, Aston Martin sit 10th of 11 teams in the constructors’ championship. Their only point came from Alonso’s 10th place in Monaco back in May.

What comes next for Lance Stroll and Aston Martin?

A bulk of new parts from Adrian Newey have been held back for the last few races and are now expected to debut in Hungary. An engine upgrade from Honda is also pencilled in for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after the summer break.

For now, the team’s focus is on salvaging what they can from the Hungarian weekend. Stroll and Alonso will need every inch of performance from the new package just to claw back into the midfield.