Ecclestone warns Lawrence Stroll: 'You can't buy the F1 title'

Stroll has invested heavily in F1, doing so in October 2018 when he bought the Force India team for £90 million. That became Racing Point before being rebranded as Aston Martin for the 2021 season, with further investment into the British car brand.

However, despite opening a three-building factory at Silverstone in July 2023 and bringing in master designer Adrian Newey to try and become one of the leading forces in 2026 amid the regulation overhaul, it's been a challenging pre-season for Aston Martin.

During Bahrain testing, due to a plethora of issues that included problems with Honda and its new power unit, the British team could only complete 334 laps, 252 fewer than their nearest competitors, Cadillac, while also sitting seven-tenths off the pace of the brand-new American team.

On paper, a successful combination looked to be created for Aston Martin and potential success in 2026, but there was some caution from Ecclestone regarding moves made by Stroll Sr.

“You can’t buy the Formula 1 World Championship title," the 95-year-old explained in conversation with Blick.

Ecclestone likened Aston Martin's current situation to that of Ferrari, with the Scuderia looking to end a 19-year wait for a drivers' title triumph after Kimi Raikkonen did so in 2007.

“The fact that there is always a piece missing in the title puzzle is best illustrated by Ferrari," continued the Brit.