The Honda power unit has been a thorn in the side for Aston Martin throughout the 2026 season, and Lance Stroll has now revealed the brutal reality of the situation ahead of the US Grand Prix.

Aston Martin headed into the weekend in Austin, Texas, sitting P10 in the constructors' standings after a dismal campaign to date, with the team only able to score seven points through the opening 17 rounds of the campaign.

Thanks to Adrian Newey and those at the Silverstone factory, a big upgrade package to the AMR26 in July has appeared to remedy some of the aerodynamic gremlins that the team were having to contend with.

The same cannot be said for Honda's upgrades to their power unit, however, which continue to be a massive problem for Stroll and team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Lance Stroll: Honda power unit costing AM

Friday's early running at the Circuit of the Americas ahead of the US Grand Prix looked somewhat promising, with Stroll and Alonso P13 and P12 in FP1.

However, come FP2, they were P17 and P16, with Stroll revealing just how much time was being lost because of the Honda power unit after the session.

"The car's not too bad," Stroll told F1TV after the session. "We're missing a lot of power.

"I think we're losing a second. That's a lot of time."

To us mere mortals, one second is nothing, but in F1 terms, it is absolutely massive.

Add a second to Alonso and Stroll's lap time in FP2, for example, and suddenly the Aston Martin cars would be in the mix with the Mercedes of George Russell and the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Honda has at least got to the bottom of a power unit issue that has been plaguing Alonso at some recent grands prix, but other than that, there is little to celebrate.