Guenther Steiner Blasts Aston Martin: 'Not F1 Standards Anymore' After Barcelona Disaster

Guenther Steiner's "not F1 standards" blast came directly after Aston Martin's catastrophic weekend at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, where both cars qualified on the last row and failed to finish the race, leaving the team languishing in 10th place in the constructors' championship with just one point all season.

What sparked Steiner's criticism

Steiner, the former Haas team principal and now Tech 3 MotoGP boss, called Aston Martin's 2026 campaign "not acceptable" and said their performance is "not F1 standards anymore" . He went further on Spanish radio, warning that if the slide continues, "they'll go to F2" . His core argument: a team with Aston Martin's investment, facility upgrades, and high-profile hires like Adrian Newey and a Honda works engine partnership has no excuse for being slower than newcomer Cadillac .

Barcelona disaster in detail

Aston Martin's weekend at Barcelona was their worst of the season :

• Both cars qualified on the last row of the grid .
• Both cars failed to finish the race, with severe vibrations that caused health concerns for drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll .
• Team boss Mike Krack admitted beforehand that Barcelona's high-speed, high-downforce layout would leave them with "no place to hide" .

Mike Krack's public apology

Krack issued a direct apology to fans after the race:

"I'm sorry, truly, for the fans. We saw many with the green shirts and they're people who bought very expensive tickets to see their heroes."

He described the period as "disappointing weekends, difficult weeks" and acknowledged the team must improve "on all fronts" despite only finding "small positives" .

Championship standing and depth of the crisis

As of the 2026 Barcelona round, Aston Martin sits 10th out of 11 teams in the constructors' championship with just 1 point — scored by Alonso's 10th-place finish in Monaco . Only Cadillac (0 points) is behind them. For context:

Position	Team	Points
1	Mercedes	262
...	...	...
10	Aston Martin	1
11	Cadillac	0

Both Aston Martin drivers are in the bottom five of the drivers' standings: Alonso 18th with 1 point, Stroll 22nd with 0 points .

What this reveals about Aston Martin's 2026 struggles

• The new regulations (2026) have exposed them badly. A team that finished 5th in the constructors' in 2024 and 2025 has completely fallen off the pace under the new technical rules.
• Massive investment has not translated to results. Despite a new factory, the hiring of Adrian Newey, and a Honda works engine deal, the AMR26 is uncompetitive and unreliable .
• Leadership is openly admitting the crisis. Krack's apology and his admission of "nowhere to hide" signal internal acknowledgment that this is not a blip — it's a fundamental car problem .
• The Alonso factor is becoming strained. Alonso, who was already showing frustration, told Spanish media after Barcelona: "We know and we have no problem" — interpreted by Marca as a fed-up reaction to the team's repeated failures .