Ex-F1 team principal says Aston Martin 'make Cadillac look good' in brutal assessment

The former Haas team principal, speaking on the The Red Flags podcast, was highly critical of Aston Martin's recent performances, arguing that the team's lack of competitiveness is no longer of "F1 standard".

Aston Martin only have one point in 2026, scored by Fernando Alonso in Monaco, but only after Cadillac's Sergio Perez was given a time penalty for a grid procedure infringement. Cadillac were expected to struggle in what is their first season on the grid, but pressure is building on Aston Martin to turn their fortunes around.

Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Steiner said: "Aston Martin makes even Cadillac look good, you know, and Cadillac was down three laps at the end of a race, but it made Cadillac look good. What Aston Martin is doing now is just, in my opinion, not acceptable.

“It’s not F1 standards anymore. It’s like having the local guy there, you’re dead last, but by a mile, and then you don’t finish the race as well." He added: "I don't think Lawrence Stroll is proud of what is happening there but obviously the buck stops with him, he owns the team. It's not for a lack of trying from Lawrence Stroll, there are very few people who have have put this much money of his own into Formula One as Lawrence did, but obviously he can't get it right at the moment."

At last weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Lance Stroll retired after just five laps with a gearbox issue. Fernando Alonso retired on Lap 37 with a battery issue, leading to the VSC, which Lewis Hamilton took advantage of to take the lead before going on to win his first race for Ferrari.

There is some hope for Alonso and Stroll that Aston Martin can become more competitive this season, as Aston Martin are set to abandon their current car, with Adrian Newey working on an improved version, which is likely to appear on track after the summer break.

GPblog understands that it’s effectively a completely new car that is, in principle, set to see the light of day at Zandvoort. There will be a lot of pressure on Aston Martin to make a big jump and give their two drivers a car in which they can fight with.