Aston Martin AMR26

A place to discuss the characteristics of the cars in Formula One, both current as well as historical. Laptimes, driver worshipping and team chatter do not belong here.
User avatar
AR3-GP
560
Joined: 06 Jul 2021, 01:22

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

Blackout wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 06:42
Yes but the AM is even tighter. For example the MCL seems to still carry a saddle centerline cooling system, which makes the airbox cover look relatively longer and thicker, while AM somehow managed to shrink that area too.

Alonso said they had cooling issues in Barcelona. There's no free lunch in F1. They will have to cut open the bodywork if Bahrain forecast is accurate...
Beware of T-Rex

willga
willga
1
Joined: 21 Aug 2008, 11:34

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

AR3-GP wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 08:50
Blackout wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 06:42
Yes but the AM is even tighter. For example the MCL seems to still carry a saddle centerline cooling system, which makes the airbox cover look relatively longer and thicker, while AM somehow managed to shrink that area too.

Alonso said they had cooling issues in Barcelona. There's no free lunch in F1. They will have to cut open the bodywork if Bahrain forecast is accurate...
That's a Newey-ism in itself - even when he was at Williams, the car would boil during the first test and they'd have to hack holes in the back of the engine cover...
I'm told that unkinder souls there nicknamed him Fiddly-Diddly

Emag
Emag
133
Joined: 11 Feb 2019, 14:56

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

AR3-GP wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 08:50
Blackout wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 06:42
Yes but the AM is even tighter. For example the MCL seems to still carry a saddle centerline cooling system, which makes the airbox cover look relatively longer and thicker, while AM somehow managed to shrink that area too.

Alonso said they had cooling issues in Barcelona. There's no free lunch in F1. They will have to cut open the bodywork if Bahrain forecast is accurate...
Considering that they ran a limited engine, then I would assume that's a bit more worrying than it sounds. Even if the limitation was achieved by running the ICE at "full power" minus the battery, it's still quite a bit less heat than they would have to deal with on a normal racing scenario. Not to mention the colder temps which alleviate the problem too, so there's the higher ambient temps to deal with for most of the season as well.

Perhaps they overdid it a bit with the packaging. The RB14 back in 2018 was quite "ambitious" in terms of tight bodywork too, but the Renault engine did not handle it well that year, with the car experiencing many mechanical issues.
Developer of F1InsightsHub

FNTC
FNTC
22
Joined: 03 Nov 2023, 21:27

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

They had a non-active front wing in Barcelona too, I think that may be the main reason for not running 350kph with it. But of course it could be the other way around too, that they had been told by Honda to limit rpms or something and therefore fitted a "dumb" front wing.

vorticism
vorticism
443
Joined: 01 Mar 2022, 20:20
Location: YooEssay

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

atanatizante wrote:
09 Feb 2026, 23:16
vorticism wrote:
01 Feb 2026, 20:51
The lack of bodywork beneath the sidepods is remarkable. No other team has this. The width at the base of the sidepod is effectively the width of the fuel-cell/safety-cell/monocoque (note the vertical lines that descend directly from the halo mounts). Straight shot from the forward floor to the gap between the rear tyre and the diffuser. That gap can be seen from the front of the car. Straight groundline. I’ve highlighted it here.

A feat of packaging? Usually components are housed beneath the radiator ducting.

https://i.postimg.cc/Hsc5DZ0M/amr26glinevorticism-1.jpg
I wonder whether the advantage of creating a linear flow channel to the diffuser by moving several internal components as high as possible, thereby raising the center of gravity, outweighs placing most of the car's internal components as low as possible and, implicitly, a lower center of gravity ...
AMR26 also has its rear suspension arms set high, and also has pushrods there, so it would seem CoG in isolation is not a main driver. Aero could be king but they could also be lowering masses elsewhere such as with how they manage the centerline coolers, as you say.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

gearboxtrouble
gearboxtrouble
4
Joined: 17 Jan 2026, 19:17

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

It's a very interesting design that seems more extreme in picking a direction that the other cars we have seen so far. The rear suspension is mounted in a way that makes me think they're trying to use the upper wishbones that attach to the pillar as a way to bring back the beam wing that's been lost in these regs. I'd be curious to see if they add more explicitly aerodynamic surfaces to this as they develop the concept further.

User avatar
MV8
13
Joined: 05 Aug 2021, 00:26

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

First image of the car on track

Image
Just posting

User avatar
AR3-GP
560
Joined: 06 Jul 2021, 01:22

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

Front wing is updated.
Beware of T-Rex

User avatar
Snelbaard
2
Joined: 18 Feb 2022, 11:32

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

All three elements still seem to be rigidly interconnected though, so still no active front wing today.

f1rules
f1rules
628
Joined: 11 Jan 2004, 15:34
Location: Denmark

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

Image

Martin Keene
Martin Keene
8
Joined: 11 May 2010, 09:02

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

There appears to be some kind of structure over the top of the exhaust, follow it along and you can see it change from a matt black sort of colour to the shiny-ish colour of the tail pipe.

Hmmm, looking again, actually, is it.. or is it a shadow?

:-k

theriusDR3
theriusDR3
4
Joined: 09 Jan 2016, 09:04
Location: Pontianak, Indonesia

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

AMR26 Technical Specifications data please

Farnborough
Farnborough
139
Joined: 18 Mar 2023, 14:15

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

vorticism wrote:
10 Feb 2026, 22:28
atanatizante wrote:
09 Feb 2026, 23:16
vorticism wrote:
01 Feb 2026, 20:51
The lack of bodywork beneath the sidepods is remarkable. No other team has this. The width at the base of the sidepod is effectively the width of the fuel-cell/safety-cell/monocoque (note the vertical lines that descend directly from the halo mounts). Straight shot from the forward floor to the gap between the rear tyre and the diffuser. That gap can be seen from the front of the car. Straight groundline. I’ve highlighted it here.

A feat of packaging? Usually components are housed beneath the radiator ducting.

https://i.postimg.cc/Hsc5DZ0M/amr26glinevorticism-1.jpg
I wonder whether the advantage of creating a linear flow channel to the diffuser by moving several internal components as high as possible, thereby raising the center of gravity, outweighs placing most of the car's internal components as low as possible and, implicitly, a lower center of gravity ...
AMR26 also has its rear suspension arms set high, and also has pushrods there, so it would seem CoG in isolation is not a main driver. Aero could be king but they could also be lowering masses elsewhere such as with how they manage the centerline coolers, as you say.
I'm unsure if its generally appreciated just how low the key mass items are on these design. If seen in naked/build phase, the PU primary mass (that below the intake plenum etc) is so close to ground level with the cylinder heads broadly not above wheel spindle height. Its quite dramatic in 1) how small they are in overall form 2) just how low they sit within chassis architecture.
Some realistic idea can be had by looking at those yt content showing gearbox layout arrangement (two generally out there, Alpine & Mercedes) with comparison of input shaft at one end and showing crankshaft level, with the output drive shafts out of differential location stepped up to the highest point on transmission casing.

The rear pushrod suspension input, at top side, has obvious equipment sited there, but also the torsion bars and other related components travelling down far inside the case unit to also sit relatively low in chassis terms.

Lifing the upper suspension arms, along with accompanying geometry of whole suspension can give increased benefit to placement of roll centre etc, also an significant aspect of chassis dynamics.

User avatar
Lasssept
104
Joined: 09 Feb 2024, 01:13

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

Image

Image

Farnborough
Farnborough
139
Joined: 18 Mar 2023, 14:15

Re: Aston Martin AMR26

Post

Martin Keene wrote:
11 Feb 2026, 10:11
There appears to be some kind of structure over the top of the exhaust, follow it along and you can see it change from a matt black sort of colour to the shiny-ish colour of the tail pipe.

Hmmm, looking again, actually, is it.. or is it a shadow?

:-k
looks that you were right in first statement, as the shadows are coming from a different direction on the rest of bodywork.

It looks like a shroud, and quite likely normal in having a internal coating (possibly those gold coated film) to divert radiant heat path from exhaust away from the structural element surrounding it.