2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[f1isgood]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

The car barely ran and there's consensus already? I would be impressed if they match their 2023 performance for 10 races this year. Why do even people with inside info talk stuff that mostly end up not being true?

[TyreSlip]

Incredible what Newey is doing already in this team.
Having the car in the wind tunnel only in April and being able to develop the car so much in key areas highlights why he is so ahead of the others. Someone else would have made a very safe design like Cadillac to be ready for the start of the season.

It could also be that a new team like Cadillac built a basic car to invest in development when a proven concept on track is clear.

[Xyz22]

Incredible what Newey is doing already in this team.
Having the car in the wind tunnel only in April and being able to develop the car so much in key areas highlights why he is so ahead of the others. Someone else would have made a very safe design like Cadillac to be ready for the start of the season.

AMR would have about 2100 more CFD runs (700 extra in each of 3 ATP periods) than Mclaren between June and December. They would also have ~300 more windtunnel runs over the 3 ATP periods in the 2nd half of 2025. There's no reason why a team with their resources can't have a good car and it doesn't make sense to compare them to Cadillac which is the equivalent of Haas in 2016.

We should not be under any illusion about the inequity of resources that has gone into the 2026 cars. If AMR started 4 months behind, and had a small allocation like Mclaren, they wouldn't have been able to do anything. The extra development time has compensated a lot for the late start.

https://preview.redd.it/the-race-windtu ... 1869a165d0

You are still working with a 3 months delay and you still need to develop and produce all the parts, so it's still extremely challenging and they just built the car at the last minute.
In any event, i'm not expecting the AMR to be competitive for the win or even the podium from the get go mainly because i think the weight will be an issue. Newey main focus was on the chassis and suspension layout, which are the key areas you want to get right in order to keep developing without making huge changes yoy.

[TyreSlip]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/uploads/2020/11/ ... 0x675.webp

I do not know if the rumour is true, but it is not unreasonable. Honda said themselves a few years ago that they were putting a lot of focus on the battery and electrical components.

[CHT]

In my opinion it will take a miracle for AMR to be competing at the front this season.

1) Wind tunnel correlation. No short cut because every wind tunnel is unique
2) Lack of team running Honda engine mean less track information for development.
3) Weak drivers pairing.
4) Inexperienced team principal - Great designer doesnt mean great leader.
5) Restructuring of organisation and staffs movement is expected with AN.

[mzso]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

If so much is known, don't hold back on us. Give us the top 3 drivers at the end of the year and their points.

[diffuser]

Are you all not worried about his "4 months late" line in that interview?

It's not like we haven't known this since 2024. It isn't news.

[johnnycesup]

So they just spend 3 months twiddling their thumbs waiting for Newey, and a further month waiting for the wind tunnel to come online?

That doesn't sound like good usage of time IMO, there must have been some 2026 program going on.

[Ashwinv16]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/uploads/2020/11/ ... 0x675.webp

That's why its a rumor

[edu2703]

That's why its a rumor

My biggest skepticism stems from the fact that this information is too specific, both from Honda and its competitors, that I doubt anyone in F1 right now has that much knowledge and is even leaking it around.

A senior Honda engineer might know everything about the Honda PU, but they don't know everything about their rivals, what they're up to. Even that engineer can't accurately deduce right now what advantage the Honda PU will have over its competitors or where they will be in the engine pecking order, let alone believe there's a consensus (from whom?) the Honda PU will have an advantage in this or that.

This seems more like something out of the fertile imagination of some Alonso fan than from someone reliable.

[diffuser]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/uploads/2020/11/ ... 0x675.webp

That's why its a rumor

I don't understand the infatuation with rumors. It's almost impossible for us to figure things out when we have a ton of data... imagine the odd of getting anything right with fragments of data that we don't even know how it was collected. It just boggles the mind.

[diffuser]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/uploads/2020/11/ ... 0x675.webp

That's why its a rumor

I don't understand the infatuation with rumors. It's almost impossible for us to figure things out when we have a ton of data... imagine the odd of getting anything right with fragments of data that we don't even know how it was collected. It just boggles the mind.

[madridista]

There continues to be rumors about Honda not being the best engine and the ICE is even behind the Audis (like nearly 20+hp down on the mercs) but Honda has something for the Battery systems that's basically going to be able to boost to its full extent almost every single lap (excluding the boost used to reach high speeds in the straights) (The other teams are said to be able to use it only every 2-4 laps with some teams even needing to lift and coast in qualifying to increase battery charge)(AGAIN YOU CANT USE IT CONTUNIOUSLY AS THERE IS A RULE ON HOW MUCH RECHARGE IS ALLOWED PER LAP) . Qualifying might be bad but there is consensus that the Aston might be hard to beat in a race distance on tracks with medium high to very low recharging potential like Monza, Bahrain, Austria...basically tracks with long straight and/or less hard braking zones. Apart from potential reliability issues (that all teams will have) the car might struggle on slow speed or track with high intense braking for recharge thus the shorter wheelbase and intense body work that is somewhat draggy on profile (yes the deep undercut is a draggy profile cause in aerodynamics this creates a lot of open space of low pressure which increases drag) that's also where the rear suspension comes in.

As long as other teams don't quickly catch up with the batteries Aston should be in the mix but qualifying is going to be bad all year long unless Newey really cooked aero and dynamics wise.

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/uploads/2020/11/ ... 0x675.webp

That's why its a rumor

there is so much bs in that post that its not even worth explaining why it can only be something you made up, just found it weird that no one has called you out for this yet.

This oddly specific insider info drivel every now and then, that never makes any sense.

[Chuckjr]

In the months after Newey had left RB and was on gardening leave, it's hard to believe he didn't have some lunches and dinners with AM engineers giving them general directions and concepts he wanted them to begin to pursue--the general direction and theories he wanted to explore and exploit for the car. Certainly not sharing software, but certainly drawing on some napkins, talking concepts, and beginning the ethos. Just my opinion.

[kptaylor]

I guess it depends on the terms of his gardening leave. Are these negotiated in the UK or is there a basic definition they abide by? For example, you can't do A, B or C, but you can do D?