2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[mzso]

Hope that's just trash rumors:

Sources consulted by MARCA confirm that it's impossible for a new Honda engine 'spec' to arrive before Australia
What they're currently working on is new software
The gearbox can't handle running in short gears with the engine revved up, among other issues. And it could take 6 months to make a new gearbox
In the paddock, it's being said that they'll be dragging a performance deficit until 2027.
Marca

It takes that long to fix a gearbox design flaw in F1?

[mzso]

Mercedes has a significant advantage if the FIA is ready to intervene. Do you think if they were behind or on par with the others there would have been the controversy over the microcamera? However, it is also fair to say that we will only see the performance on the track.

Microcamera? WTF is that?

FIA ready to intervene is also just a rumor. A bunch of rumors that are built on each other. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Red Bull or Ferrari who starts at the top.

A very particular solution, two separate combustion chambers (in fact they should have given the Nobel Prize if they had geometrically increased the ratio from 16: to 18:1 with only the thermal expansion and related problems). However, according to the rules, you must have a 16:1 ratio at all times. They wanted to be smart because there weren't sensors to measure the hot ratio and now maybe they want to install them. Basically, by regulation you can't do it, but no one can prove it without this sensor. But evidently some engineer leaked the solution (thank goodness, otherwise everyone would have been unaware). The bad thing is that they did it with the approval of the FIA which had allowed this without telling the others according to the rumours, one thing if it were true would be embarrassing.

A pre-combustion champer is nothing new though. (Not sure why you called it microcamera)
And the rules explicitly say that the compression ratio is to be measured at ambient temperatures. And that's that. Everything else is fair game.

[Leon Kennedy]

Microcamera? WTF is that?

FIA ready to intervene is also just a rumor. A bunch of rumors that are built on each other. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Red Bull or Ferrari who starts at the top.

A very particular solution, two separate combustion chambers (in fact they should have given the Nobel Prize if they had geometrically increased the ratio from 16: to 18:1 with only the thermal expansion and related problems). However, according to the rules, you must have a 16:1 ratio at all times. They wanted to be smart because there weren't sensors to measure the hot ratio and now maybe they want to install them. Basically, by regulation you can't do it, but no one can prove it without this sensor. But evidently some engineer leaked the solution (thank goodness, otherwise everyone would have been unaware). The bad thing is that they did it with the approval of the FIA which had allowed this without telling the others according to the rumours, one thing if it were true would be embarrassing.

A pre-combustion champer is nothing new though. (Not sure why you called it microcamera)
And the rules explicitly say that the compression ratio is to be measured at ambient temperatures. And that's that. Everything else is fair game.

It's a separate micro combustion chamber, that's what they called it in the article where they talked about this. It's not legal. The rules specifically state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16:1 at any time. Just because you can't verify it doesn't make it legal; it makes it clever, not legal. On the other hand, a grey area is something that the regulation doesn't specify well and is therefore legalLike Renault's Mass Damper, that was legal. Teams have tried to replicate it since 2005, but they failed, and the FIA banned the solution midway through the 2006 season. Something that still doesn't exist today, so much so that Renault made a dossier (I think it was over 60 pages) where it specified that it was something integrated into the suspension itself and was not Active aerodynamic. It was literally banned at the whim of some teams. Here, however, the situation is very specific, which is why perhaps they will take action before Melbourne.

[NAPI10]

Hope that's just trash rumors:

Sources consulted by MARCA confirm that it's impossible for a new Honda engine 'spec' to arrive before Australia
What they're currently working on is new software
The gearbox can't handle running in short gears with the engine revved up, among other issues. And it could take 6 months to make a new gearbox
In the paddock, it's being said that they'll be dragging a performance deficit until 2027.
Marca

It takes that long to fix a gearbox design flaw in F1?

Wait for 2 more days n everyone gonna start reporting totally different issue, not been discussed in last few weeks.
Basically ,no one knows if there is one specific issue or cluster of issues.It’s all speculation at the moment.

[zoroastar]

The gearbox and car pu are both new so they don't don't have past experience to glen from like other teams but ones they fix the gearbox the can unleash the pu ,i don't believe the engine is bad as it is the same concept that won championships. The media would report everything honda but would not touch audi who are having their own problems like honda in 2015.

Comparing Audi to Honda in 2015 is a bit of a self-own considering Audi looks much better than Honda in 2026.

Audi have nothing to be proud off .the sport was dumb down to accommodate them .no mguh .variable trumpet,powerful engine.they ruined f1. the engines are generators to charge batteries

audi wanted to charge the batteries from all 4 wheels instead of just 2 because they developed and used that in wec, but current teams veto'd it because they thought audi would have a big advantage. so that can kinda go both ways. either way, honda would still be about a year behind even teams that had never made a power unit before. just because

[zoroastar]

AM is for sure behind by at least one 'Test Cycle' , compared to other teams.

I don't understand the overall strategy to focus on 'Aerodynamic Package' over 'New Engine regression testing and Engine/Gearbox integration'. That might have caused sparks between Cowell and Newey.
AM could have launch a plain jane aero package with all focus on testing 'Honda Engine' and 'Gearbox Integration'. Use as must time available in Spain for pre-season testing. Resolve main teething issues and give a good load testing to Honda Engine n battery system.

Honda is already on backfoot by starting late. They need lot of testing, feedback & support from AM to build reliable 'Race Engine'. Team is developing 'Powertrain' n 'Gearbox' for first time and integration with Engine is at most priority.
I am not doubting Newey's pedigree but not able to understand this strategy.

i believe the words were "its easier to make a fast car reliable than to make a reliable car fast".

he also obviously thinks/thought that honda could produce something that would work eventually. i doubt that if honda told him something was impossible, that he would do it anyway.

[zoroastar]

A very particular solution, two separate combustion chambers (in fact they should have given the Nobel Prize if they had geometrically increased the ratio from 16: to 18:1 with only the thermal expansion and related problems). However, according to the rules, you must have a 16:1 ratio at all times. They wanted to be smart because there weren't sensors to measure the hot ratio and now maybe they want to install them. Basically, by regulation you can't do it, but no one can prove it without this sensor. But evidently some engineer leaked the solution (thank goodness, otherwise everyone would have been unaware). The bad thing is that they did it with the approval of the FIA which had allowed this without telling the others according to the rumours, one thing if it were true would be embarrassing.

A pre-combustion champer is nothing new though. (Not sure why you called it microcamera)
And the rules explicitly say that the compression ratio is to be measured at ambient temperatures. And that's that. Everything else is fair game.

It's a separate micro combustion chamber, that's what they called it in the article where they talked about this. It's not legal. The rules specifically state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16:1 at any time. Just because you can't verify it doesn't make it legal; it makes it clever, not legal. On the other hand, a grey area is something that the regulation doesn't specify well and is therefore legalLike Renault's Mass Damper, that was legal. Teams have tried to replicate it since 2005, but they failed, and the FIA banned the solution midway through the 2006 season. Something that still doesn't exist today, so much so that Renault made a dossier (I think it was over 60 pages) where it specified that it was something integrated into the suspension itself and was not Active aerodynamic. It was literally banned at the whim of some teams. Here, however, the situation is very specific, which is why perhaps they will take action before Melbourne.

yeah im curious if thats whats really being done, because that would be obviously illegal and really ballsy that merc would try getting away with something like that. i know merc have been doing everything they could for the last week to make it LOOK LIKE they do not have any advantage haha. its kindof funny. anything that could help honda get their shhhh together would make me happy though. hopefully the tests this week look a lot better.

[diffuser]

Microcamera? WTF is that?

FIA ready to intervene is also just a rumor. A bunch of rumors that are built on each other. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Red Bull or Ferrari who starts at the top.

A very particular solution, two separate combustion chambers (in fact they should have given the Nobel Prize if they had geometrically increased the ratio from 16: to 18:1 with only the thermal expansion and related problems). However, according to the rules, you must have a 16:1 ratio at all times. They wanted to be smart because there weren't sensors to measure the hot ratio and now maybe they want to install them. Basically, by regulation you can't do it, but no one can prove it without this sensor. But evidently some engineer leaked the solution (thank goodness, otherwise everyone would have been unaware). The bad thing is that they did it with the approval of the FIA which had allowed this without telling the others according to the rumours, one thing if it were true would be embarrassing.

A pre-combustion champer is nothing new though. (Not sure why you called it microcamera)
And the rules explicitly say that the compression ratio is to be measured at ambient temperatures. And that's that. Everything else is fair game.

Except they only added “measured at ambient temperature” in Oct 2025. That’s what triggered all the protests. If you write a rule where none existed before — just to save manufacturers money and make it easier for new teams — you shouldn’t create a giant loophole that requires ten times the research and development costs to overcome compared to keeping the original no-limit CR. It’s absolute madness.

[etusch]

Hope that's just trash rumors:

It takes that long to fix a gearbox design flaw in F1?

Wait for 2 more days n everyone gonna start reporting totally different issue, not been discussed in last few weeks.
Basically ,no one knows if there is one specific issue or cluster of issues.It’s all speculation at the moment.

new engine rules + new cars, too many unknowns. So there is so much rumours.

[Ashwinv16]

The gearbox issue rumor is pure trash by the way. (THIS IS A LONG POST) I just managed ot confirm a plethora of information. (Source is trust me bro but it creditable enough it upto you to believe it)

Now if rumors are to go by then listen to this. Honda root cause comes from a late last minute design change to the turbo and battery systems(software and insulation and anti'lag? (See p.s. below)) to compensate for the stupid loophole exploited by Mercedes and to fix a spool up issue and reduce turbo lag making it as close to instant power as possible(more about this latter cause if this works....) and this meant the gearbox concurrently can't cope with the new torque demand. A new set of ratios was desinged and is already on the car but it NEVER ran on the test bench so they had to do the running with limits not to mention its said to be the reason the car got delayed in Barcelona but the team dont want to fully admit it yet to keep their engine changes off radar and many weren't even breifed not to mention the rear suspension mount had to be redesinged as well to fit the new gearbox and withstand the extra vibrations)

This was also the data anomaly on the test they did on the first day (not barcelona that was apperently a wiring that came loose or hydralics not sure). They found that the gearbox was running way too hot, initially thinking it was the engine so the cooling louvers but apparently they found it to be the gearbox in the data showing clutch slips. Now I don't know if it was the actaul gearbox gears or the clutch or the flywheel which got damaged due to lubrication leak needing to replace the powertrian but either the pu or both the pu and gearbox was replaced.

They continued to run the cooling for day 2 and 3 but played around with it by blocking of certain exits and well are slowly pushing the gearbox again. Remember the current gearbox design first ran in Barcelona, IT DIDNT EVEN RUN ON THE TEST BENCH. This is how far behind we are now due to the redesign but if it works, it is to negate the compression ratio trick on certain conditions, provide very little lag so no wierd long throttling for spooling and no aggressive downshifting to keep the turbos spooled and no weird throttling to increase battery. Apparently the new design allows for regen software to start recouping at 50-75% throttle without the need to money shift or to stamp on the brakes or throttle which is what Alonso was complaing about, being easy to drive with less throttle. Uniquely the engine can deploy at that 75% throttle while recouping at the same time keeping a constant speed sp no newd to LICO (Not sure how this works though maybe I understood this wrong but its a small amount anyways if you do the maths).

Anyways thats where we at.

P.s. There's vidoes on X showing the aston start which clearly sounds like a fuel dump anti'lag like system and also there romournao a previous red Bull gearbox technician that began work a few weeks ago right on time for the gearbox revision that apprently caused the delay.

[FNTC]

https://streamain.com/en/uXp0sF7iKZgGb3D/watch
It definitely sounds like they are experimenting with some kind of anti lag system in this practice start. The lound explosions are like WRC cars with ALS.
There was also a comparison where they ran around 9.8k rpms with the others at around 12.5k for launch, but that could also be to protect the weak gearbox.

[mzso]

It's a separate micro combustion chamber, that's what they called it in the article where they talked about this. It's not legal. The rules specifically state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16:1 at any time. Just because you can't verify it doesn't make it legal; it makes it clever, not legal. On the other hand, a grey area is something that the regulation doesn't specify well and is therefore legalLike Renault's Mass Damper, that was legal. Teams have tried to replicate it since 2005, but they failed, and the FIA banned the solution midway through the 2006 season. Something that still doesn't exist today, so much so that Renault made a dossier (I think it was over 60 pages) where it specified that it was something integrated into the suspension itself and was not Active aerodynamic. It was literally banned at the whim of some teams. Here, however, the situation is very specific, which is why perhaps they will take action before Melbourne.

No it does not say that. It says "No cylinder of the engine may have a geometric compression ratio higher than 16.0." and the test "and executed at ambient temperature".
It explicitly legalize any sort of compression ratio change change.
But even if it wasn't there. The geometric compression ratio is a static thing. It's always different in a running engine.

BS bans did happen, but it's not relevant to the legality of this. One of my favorites is the banning of the left/right brake bias system of mclaren, because of "real wheel steering"... They might as well have banned the differential...

[Bisonas]

A very particular solution, two separate combustion chambers (in fact they should have given the Nobel Prize if they had geometrically increased the ratio from 16: to 18:1 with only the thermal expansion and related problems). However, according to the rules, you must have a 16:1 ratio at all times. They wanted to be smart because there weren't sensors to measure the hot ratio and now maybe they want to install them. Basically, by regulation you can't do it, but no one can prove it without this sensor. But evidently some engineer leaked the solution (thank goodness, otherwise everyone would have been unaware). The bad thing is that they did it with the approval of the FIA which had allowed this without telling the others according to the rumours, one thing if it were true would be embarrassing.

A pre-combustion champer is nothing new though. (Not sure why you called it microcamera)
And the rules explicitly say that the compression ratio is to be measured at ambient temperatures. And that's that. Everything else is fair game.

Except they only added “measured at ambient temperature” in Oct 2025. That’s what triggered all the protests. If you write a rule where none existed before — just to save manufacturers money and make it easier for new teams — you shouldn’t create a giant loophole that requires ten times the research and development costs to overcome compared to keeping the original no-limit CR. It’s absolute madness.

This IMO is the most controversial thing of all.
With hindsight today, someone could argue that "ambient temperature" parameter was added so late just to give the Mercedes trick some more creditability or legality.

This is the main reason i think why (IMO) FIA and FOM will be forced to align with the majority of engine manufactures and rectify this situation.

As i see it, even if it is not said out loud by the manufactures, this is a case that manufactures may have threatened behind closed doors to go to court over this, if FIA doesn't rectify the situation, and then FIA will have to explain in court under what circumstances exactly they decide to add the "ambient temperature" parameter so late, and if by then, they already had communications with Mercedes regarding what Mercedes is trying to do.

The whole thing if it goes to court will look very bad IMO for FIA in the public eye.

That's why i believe this is a case that all 4 manufactures will be willing to take to court, and on the other hand Mercedes will actually do nothing if FIA changes the measurement procedures and just accept it.

They know that if this goes to court, will probably not look good for them either, because some heavy lobbying (hypothetically) may have been involved for that "ambient temperature" so late introduction.

I may be wrong ofc, and the things i am saying are all just speculations, not facts, but this is how i see it tbh.

[FNTC]

[Bisonas]

CHRIS CRONIN was IMO one of the best, if not the best race engineer Alonso ever had.
The calmness in his voice, and the ability he has to communicate his "suggestions" to the driver, never dictating or forcing anything is truly amazing.
I am really happy that he will be Alonso's race engineer again this year.
I never really understood why they removed him from that position in the first place.