Aston Martin F1 driver Lance Stroll has said that he expects things to be ‘more difficult’ for Aston Martin after the summer break.

That’s despite the fact that the team are bringing an upgraded Honda power unit to the Dutch Grand Prix, the first race after the summer break.

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to 2026, only picking up one point from the opening 11 grand prix weekends as they have struggled with reliability and performance issues.

At the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, the team brought 16 upgrades to their AMR26, upgrades which worked well, helping Stroll to a 13th-place finish and his two-time champion team-mate Fernando Alonso to 14th.

F1 design legend Adrian Newey has been working hard on their chassis ever since it became clear that they were not competitive at the start of the year, while Honda have been desperately trying to find answers to their power unit woes.

And those answers may just have been found, with a new, upgraded power unit being tested this week around the Hungaroring, before it is rolled out competitively for the Dutch GP in August.

But Stroll does not seem too optimistic, admitting that they are going to struggle at circuits such as Baku and Monza, both of which are coming up in September.

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Stroll’s Aston Martin upgrades verdict

“At Zandvoort we’ll see the progress we’ve made with the engine, and from there it will continue to depend somewhat on the circuit,” Stroll said in quotes reported by Motorsport via SoyMotor. “I think that even if, with the engine upgrade, we were as fast as Mercedes, which is what I hope, it’s probably not very likely.

“So Baku, Monza, those circuits where power is key will be more difficult. We have to try to take advantage of the circuits where it’s not so much about the engine as it is about grip in the corners.”

He continued about the 16 upgrades: “Very good. I mean, it’s been the most promising improvement we’ve had in a very, very long time, maybe in the entire history of this team.”

Newey has confirmed that more chassis upgrades will be on their way in both Baku and Monza, so that may well help to cheer Stroll and the rest of the team up.

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F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has provided a bizarre defence of one of the sport’s more controversial broadcast choices.

Battery charge and usage information was conspicuous by its absence during recent high-speed, high-usage races at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, leading to a number of fan complaints.

The prevailing theory among those fans, especially with the graphics popping back up again at the low-deployment Hungarian Grand Prix, is that F1 is trying to avoid highlighting the artificiality of overtaking under the new regulations.

Domenicali offered a strange and unsatisfying answer to a question about the graphics when speaking to the media this week, suggesting that the decision is vindicated because Star Wars creator George Lucas told him so.

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Domenicali: I had a discussion with George Lucas in Hungary

The former Ferrari team principal claimed that Lucas told him ‘new fans’ of the sport have no interest in the process of driving the car and overtaking, instead being ‘fascinated’ with the fact that the on-track action exists.

“No one is interested in how you drive your car,” he said. “I had an interesting discussion with George Lucas in Hungary, and he was giving me an incredible view on how the new fans are watching F1.

“They are fascinated by the fact that there is a lot of action. [They are] not interested in the angle of throttle, or the percentage of brake pressure on how you can overtake a driver.”

Of course, Lucas himself has famously been at odds with large sections of his own fanbase for decades, continually proving and re-proving that he has somewhere between little and no concern for what they want or what feedback he receives.

Probably the perfect person to take creative notes from. In unrelated news, Jar-Jar Binks is slated for a Cadillac drive starting in 2029, the 2021 season finale has been retroactively edited so that Michael Masi never interfered, and a faintly irritating teenager is now the most important charac—oh, hang on…

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Former F1 presenter Rachel Brookes has teased a tell-all interview following her mysterious departure from Sky Sports.

The British journalist was a valued member of Sky’s live coverage of grand prix weekends, which began after the channel acquired the rights to cover F1 in 2012.

In the past, Brookes showed off her talents on the Sky F1 Show alongside ex-pundit and driver Johnny Herbert, and also presented Sky Sports News before becoming a reporter who was frequently on hand to talk to drivers in the media pen during race weekends.

However, just days before last month’s Austrian Grand Prix, Brookes made the shock announcement that she would be leaving the team with immediate effect.

At the time of the announcement, a spokesperson for Sky told GPFans: “Rachel has moved on from the Sky Sports F1 team to take on new challenges as we evolve our coverage. Rachel has been an asset for the team and we wish her well in her new endeavours.”

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Rachel Brookes leaves F1 fans desperate for answers

In her own post via social media, Brookes left out the details of her departure and what might have caused it, simply stating: “After many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next.

“I have left the Sky F1 team but F1 still has my heart & so I’ll still be involved in it. I’ll keep you posted, in the meantime see you at Silverstone!”

She then returned with the F1 circus at the following race weekend, in a role hosting Aston Martin’s ‘The Lawn’ show at the British GP.

As fans eagerly await details of her next project or broadcasting appointment, Brookes has taken to social media once again to tease a tell-all interview regarding her shock Sky Sports exit.

In the video posted on TikTok, the former Sky F1 reporter could be seen entering a room that appeared to be set up for a podcast recording, sitting in an interview chair with a nervous expression on her face.

Brookes then jokingly dropped a cheeky reference to a trend which has been doing the rounds on social media, where users sit down, clip on a mini mic and get ready to tell their story, in reference to the dramatic style of a Netflix documentary.

The caption attached to Brookes’ take on the viral trend read: “Preparing for my Netflix documentary on why I left Sky.”

Though the presenter was merely making a lighthearted joke in line with the TikTok trend, it became clear from the comments that fans miss having her on their screens with Sky and are keen to know more about why she left.

“I know this is just for the trend but enquiring minds do want to know,” read one comment, as another stated: “Sad to see you go. You were great on Sky. Wish you well in what you choose to do next. Hope to see you back in the paddock soon.”

One social media user even shared their wish that Brookes really would do a sit-down tell-all interview, writing: “I hope this is gonna be real!!”

@rachelbrookestv Jumping on the Netflix trend….. #netflix #documentary #trending #fyp ♬ original sound – Let Loose

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