AUSTIN — It has not been the easiest season for Aston Martin on the 2026 Formula 1 grid. The year began with severe vibrations from the power unit that prevented Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso from even finishing races, and the year has seen the team at the back of the grid more often than they would like.

But Lance Stroll remains “excited” about what lies ahead for himself and the rest of the team.

Meeting the media on Thursday ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Stroll talked about where the team still needs to improve heading into 2027, and how optimistic he remains about the future at Aston Martin.

“Well, we need another step,” said Stroll to the media, including SB Nation, on Thursday in Austin. “I think Malaysia was our most positive weekend, where we were kind of a bit more in the mix in the race. We were in Q2 and then in the race we’re running around the points, and it was our most encouraging weekend. And then we were in Singapore, we were back in the back with Cadillac and stuff. So, there’s still just a lot of areas we’ve got to work on and keep pushing forward.

“Are we where we want to be? No, but we’ve made huge steps this year, in the right direction for sure. We have some more great ideas in the pipeline for the future, [and] I think it’s great to see everything that’s going on back at the factory.”

The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia saw Aston Martin deliver the team’s best result of the season, with Alonso finishing up in P8, while Stroll crossed the line in P12. Yet, while the team expected to get more out of the Singapore Grand Prix, that race proved to be another difficult weekend for Aston Martin, as Alonso finished down in P16 and Stroll retired from the race after 36 laps due to a mechanical failure.

Asked to sum up the season in three words, Stroll led with “frustrating” as you might expect, but then ended on a much more positive note.

“I think frustrating, just because we’re not where we want to be as a team,” started Stroll. “But I think also very encouraging because we made some big steps forward, and I think, the future is exciting. I still really believe that.

“We have a great future ahead of us as a team, and we just have to keep pushing forward.”