Adrian Newey has leapt to the defence of under-fire Aston Martin racer Lance Stroll, claiming the Canadian has a “bad rap” outside of the team. Stroll has had some high-profile blunders since making his Formula 1 debut in 2017 and has been caught out this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix – having been forced out of FP1 after pulling into the path of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and requiring a gearbox change from the ensuing contact,

The FIA announced in an official statement that Stroll was to be given a further three-place penalty after he was adjudged to have blocked Pierre Gasly during the first part of qualifying, with the Frenchman left completely bereft by the actions of the Aston Martin driver.

Adrian Newey has jumped to the defence of Lance Stroll, insisting he receives undue criticism. The driver is the son of Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire with a dream to conquer Formula 1. The team owner attracted two-time champion Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin, and more recently convinced Newey to jump ship from Red Bull.

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Newey calls Aston Martin's new wind tunnel and factory "indisputably the best in Formula 1", but notes they're still ramping up: "They're very complex tools, still in the development phase, so the productivity isn't there yet. You need a good wind tunnel, but in the end, what makes the difference is the human element."

The FIA has announced that Lance Stroll has had one penalty point added to his F1 superlicence following his crash with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in practice at the Monaco Grand Prix. Stroll and Leclerc collided in the early stages of FP1 in Monte Carlo on Friday,

Aston Martin once again showed strong pace with the recently upgraded version of the AMR25. The British team were competitive in both FP1 and FP2, despite an incident in the opening session of the weekend compromising Stroll’s track time.

ASTON MARTIN have teamed up with the likes of Dave, The Rolling Stones, Dom Dolla and more to bring a new fanbase into F1. Drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been fully on board too,