2025 Aston Martin | Aramco F1 Team

[diffuser]

Some rumors rises from Marcin Budkowski, ex Alpine about Aston Martin will not be ready for the Barcelona tests due to delays with the Honda engine. He seems to have said this to ElevenSports. But I couldn't find the article; it seems he heard it in the paddock. But all teams are sttrugling suffer with them engines, just Mercedes dont.

they didnt schedule the car reveal until after the first test, and they did move cowell over to work with honda and aramco. but, i dont know how they would know for sure that they would definitely be late with the motor a full month out. and why they would be telling people around the paddock? honda have been saying from the start that they would be pushing development all the way to testing because of their late start, and its probably one reason why cowell is helping too now, but i find it hard to believe they wont show up to the first test with a PU. maybe be heavy, but theyll have something. HOPEFULLY

The first test is closed door. no media, nobody will see anything. So I'm pretty sure everyone will reveal in the 2 weeks between the first test and the 2nd. Many will probably be presenting AT the 2nd test, as some teams did in normal years at the first test. The 2nd test will be the 1st opened test to the media.

Again there are 2 weeks between the first and 2nd tests not a month. There only 5 weeks between the first test and the start of the season.


The 2026 PU regs have increased the Min weight of the ICE from 109KG to 130Kg, the reason being they've restricted many of the very expensive materials to keep costs down. When Horner was still with RBR he suggested that the target was "plucked out of the air" and that achieving it would be a significant financial and engineering challenge. Meaning that if they do show up over weight, hey would not be alone.

The thing is the Japanese culture tends to express themselves that way... For example ... They might have built a motor with 5 times more power than everyone else but will still say they are struggling with a certain aspects.

[karana]

...

The 2026 PU regs have increased the Min weight of the ICE from 109KG to 130Kg, the reason being they've restricted many of the very expensive materials to keep costs down. When Horner was still with RBR he suggested that the target was "plucked out of the air" and that achieving it would be a significant financial and engineering challenge. Meaning that if they do show up over weight, hey would not be alone.
...

The ICE (with TC) is currently at ~140kg (151kg PU - 7kg MGU-K - 4kg MGU-H). The battery is currently not included in the PU mass. But of course the ICE could be lighter if the electric motors are heavier.

[diffuser]

...

The 2026 PU regs have increased the Min weight of the ICE from 109KG to 130Kg, the reason being they've restricted many of the very expensive materials to keep costs down. When Horner was still with RBR he suggested that the target was "plucked out of the air" and that achieving it would be a significant financial and engineering challenge. Meaning that if they do show up over weight, hey would not be alone.
...

The ICE (with TC) is currently at ~140kg (151kg PU - 7kg MGU-K - 4kg MGU-H). The battery is currently not included in the PU mass. But of course the ICE could be lighter if the electric motors are heavier.

Not sure I was clear....

The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is one of the six core components that make up the Formula 1 Power Unit (PU).
The Power Unit as a whole consists of the ICE, Turbocharger (TC), Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), Energy Store (ES), Control Electronics (CE), and Exhaust (EX).

Naturally for 2026 the PU will not have a MGU-H and therefore only 5 parts. The 130kg is only for the ICE.

[Nikosar]

Honda is behind schedule and may not be ready for testing in Barcelona.

Seems only engine ready is Mercedes.

[collindsilva]

Honda is behind schedule and may not be ready for testing in Barcelona.

Seems only engine ready is Mercedes.

Do you have any source or your refering Buduski guy.

[Nikosar]

Honda is behind schedule and may not be ready for testing in Barcelona.

Seems only engine ready is Mercedes.

Do you have any source or your refering Buduski guy.

All ressources like next gen auto mention as well Budkowski. He is the one who made the noise

[karana]

...

The 2026 PU regs have increased the Min weight of the ICE from 109KG to 130Kg, the reason being they've restricted many of the very expensive materials to keep costs down. When Horner was still with RBR he suggested that the target was "plucked out of the air" and that achieving it would be a significant financial and engineering challenge. Meaning that if they do show up over weight, hey would not be alone.
...

The ICE (with TC) is currently at ~140kg (151kg PU - 7kg MGU-K - 4kg MGU-H). The battery is currently not included in the PU mass. But of course the ICE could be lighter if the electric motors are heavier.

Not sure I was clear....

The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is one of the six core components that make up the Formula 1 Power Unit (PU).
The Power Unit as a whole consists of the ICE, Turbocharger (TC), Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), Energy Store (ES), Control Electronics (CE), and Exhaust (EX).

Naturally for 2026 the PU will not have a MGU-H and therefore only 5 parts. The 130kg is only for the ICE.

The 130kg is for ICE + TC + powerbox according to page 222 of the 2026 technical regulations.

You're right that I missed some parts (CE and EX) which leads to a lower mass for the current ICE, but nonetheless, the ES does not count towards the 151kg minimum mass (see lines 16 and 17 of Appendix 3 from the 2025 technical regulations). The exhaust system will count towards the ICE mass in 2026 (see line 14 on page 226 of the 2026 technical regulations).

While the PU minimum mass will increase to 185kg, most of the increase comes from the ES being included in the minimum mass in 2026.

[Jambier]

This is something everyone seems to miss.

But indeed weight will be a BIG factor next year. They have lowered the minimum car weight by 30kg.

But with the heavier batteries, I believe no one will be close to the minimum weight, so I believe we could see something huge, like a 20 to 40kg difference between the lighter and heavier car.
This will change performance a LOT.

I believe start of 26' season we will have dramatic performance difference between teams, and one key factor will be the weight.

[diffuser]

The ICE (with TC) is currently at ~140kg (151kg PU - 7kg MGU-K - 4kg MGU-H). The battery is currently not included in the PU mass. But of course the ICE could be lighter if the electric motors are heavier.

Not sure I was clear....

The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is one of the six core components that make up the Formula 1 Power Unit (PU).
The Power Unit as a whole consists of the ICE, Turbocharger (TC), Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), Energy Store (ES), Control Electronics (CE), and Exhaust (EX).

Naturally for 2026 the PU will not have a MGU-H and therefore only 5 parts. The 130kg is only for the ICE.

The 130kg is for ICE + TC + powerbox according to page 222 of the 2026 technical regulations.

You're right that I missed some parts (CE and EX) which leads to a lower mass for the current ICE, but nonetheless, the ES does not count towards the 151kg minimum mass (see lines 16 and 17 of Appendix 3 from the 2025 technical regulations). The exhaust system will count towards the ICE mass in 2026 (see line 14 on page 226 of the 2026 technical regulations).

While the PU minimum mass will increase to 185kg, most of the increase comes from the ES being included in the minimum mass in 2026.

Sorry about that, not sure how I misread the TC being in there.

[diffuser]

This is something everyone seems to miss.

But indeed weight will be a BIG factor next year. They have lowered the minimum car weight by 30kg.

But with the heavier batteries, I believe no one will be close to the minimum weight, so I believe we could see something huge, like a 20 to 40kg difference between the lighter and heavier car.
This will change performance a LOT.

I believe start of 26' season we will have dramatic performance difference between teams, and one key factor will be the weight.

Nobody was close to the limit in 2021. In fact , they raised the limit cause it was so unrealistic.

[selvam_e2002]

I am afraid of seeing repeat of Honda's 2014 with Mclaren.....

[diffuser]

I am afraid of seeing repeat of Honda's 2014 with Mclaren.....

Anything could happen. Honda could have 50 HP more and double the battery life and they could still finish last.... We see all the changes going on. We've seen all the issues over the last few years so we're not RBR yet.