2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[BassVirolla]

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

I truly hope that this doesn't turn up worse than Life or Andrea Moda.

But, given the huge amount of resources poured into the project, I dare to say this is already worse, despite the outcome until today is quantifiably better in number of laps.

[Bill]

the Aston Honda project is not for the faint hearted .Newey was brought in to shake up the team and bring glory .he is taking risks and pushing the team out of their comfort zone. The car looks very slim compared to others ,its like comparing a runaway model from Europe with a plus size model from America. Honda has took on the challenge too.so despite all the challenges the relationship between the two parties is conflict free and working well according to people from Honda.so i belief it will bear fruit but they will be pain to go through.

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

[diffuser]

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

I truly hope that this doesn't turn up worse than Life or Andrea Moda.

But, given the huge amount of resources poured into the project, I dare to say this is already worse, despite the outcome until today is quantifiably better in number of laps.

We need to see them get through a free practice, then a qualifying, then a race, then multiple races,etc. Without problems, until you do, you're always in the unknown. So they can say what they want but until you do the above, you're just hoping. Even when you get through the above, you'll circle back and take apart everything and examine wear.

[Farnborough]

the Aston Honda project is not for the faint hearted .Newey was brought in to shake up the team and bring glory .he is taking risks and pushing the team out of their comfort zone. The car looks very slim compared to others ,its like comparing a runaway model from Europe with a plus size model from America. Honda has took on the challenge too.so despite all the challenges the relationship between the two parties is conflict free and working well according to people from Honda.so i belief it will bear fruit but they will be pain to go through.

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

I agree with this, completely.

Right from the negotiation of AN timeline in coming to this team, it was easy to predict that so much needed to happen in changing the whole course of the team.

Wholly unrealistic for outsiders (on here and greater commentary) to expect a fully resolved team structure, significantly changed technical output, and finally a fully finished and COMPETITIVE car in the time frame available.

Nobody employs a key person, such as AN (and other notable designers) to preserve the status quo. The reason is to completely jump from one, existing, performance to another relm that's not happened prior to this event of appointment.

It's not, or ever will be, easy. Many things have to change. So many people exist in a team whether successful or not, and so many don't understand their true potential even. A big shift in pace and outlook seeks to engage and deploy that capability over and above the competing teams in F1. That's a massive task.

The extremely juvenile and unwarranted criticism of Honda on this thread shows just how little those writing the words know. Honda and its staff have achieved more in the engineering field than these contributors will likely even understand. Their stance on here is simply about them and their own insecure self image.

The car produced shows just how far it needs to start in making this jump. Current status is not perfect, obviously. But projections of total failure, how can anyone be confident especially when they lack the competence to even judge whats actually within this design.
They'll not get get to the front of a very competitive field be being reserved. A completely open and adventurous design should be appluaded, not ridiculed.

I'll make no such prediction of ultimate success, but enjoy watching this team make progress with a new approach for them.

[NAPI10]

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

I agree with this, completely.

Right from the negotiation of AN timeline in coming to this team, it was easy to predict that so much needed to happen in changing the whole course of the team.

Wholly unrealistic for outsiders (on here and greater commentary) to expect a fully resolved team structure, significantly changed technical output, and finally a fully finished and COMPETITIVE car in the time frame available.

Nobody employs a key person, such as AN (and other notable designers) to preserve the status quo. The reason is to completely jump from one, existing, performance to another relm that's not happened prior to this event of appointment.

It's not, or ever will be, easy. Many things have to change. So many people exist in a team whether successful or not, and so many don't understand their true potential even. A big shift in pace and outlook seeks to engage and deploy that capability over and above the competing teams in F1. That's a massive task.

The extremely juvenile and unwarranted criticism of Honda on this thread shows just how little those writing the words know. Honda and its staff have achieved more in the engineering field than these contributors will likely even understand. Their stance on here is simply about them and their own insecure self image.

The car produced shows just how far it needs to start in making this jump. Current status is not perfect, obviously. But projections of total failure, how can anyone be confident especially when they lack the competence to even judge whats actually within this design.
They'll not get get to the front of a very competitive field be being reserved. A completely open and adventurous design should be appluaded, not ridiculed.

I'll make no such prediction of ultimate success, but enjoy watching this team make progress with a new approach for them.

Well said Sir

[V10FURY]

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

I agree with this, completely.

Right from the negotiation of AN timeline in coming to this team, it was easy to predict that so much needed to happen in changing the whole course of the team.

Wholly unrealistic for outsiders (on here and greater commentary) to expect a fully resolved team structure, significantly changed technical output, and finally a fully finished and COMPETITIVE car in the time frame available.

Nobody employs a key person, such as AN (and other notable designers) to preserve the status quo. The reason is to completely jump from one, existing, performance to another relm that's not happened prior to this event of appointment.

It's not, or ever will be, easy. Many things have to change. So many people exist in a team whether successful or not, and so many don't understand their true potential even. A big shift in pace and outlook seeks to engage and deploy that capability over and above the competing teams in F1. That's a massive task.

The extremely juvenile and unwarranted criticism of Honda on this thread shows just how little those writing the words know. Honda and its staff have achieved more in the engineering field than these contributors will likely even understand. Their stance on here is simply about them and their own insecure self image.

The car produced shows just how far it needs to start in making this jump. Current status is not perfect, obviously. But projections of total failure, how can anyone be confident especially when they lack the competence to even judge whats actually within this design.
They'll not get get to the front of a very competitive field be being reserved. A completely open and adventurous design should be appluaded, not ridiculed.


I'll make no such prediction of ultimate success, but enjoy watching this team make progress with a new approach for them.

My expectations this year for Aston was around 6th in the standings, with the potential to be fighting for 5th by the end of the year if everything went to plan. 2027 would be the push to get into 4th or perhaps even 3rd best, with 2028 a title contender car. Nothing has gone to plan this year so far and Aston looks likely to be 12th or 11th best this year based on the pre-season debacle. If they can't get on top of their issues quickly, this year will be a complete write off and they should just focus on 2027. This will delay everything back a full year as F1 is a fast-moving sport, and the other teams will not simply wait around for Aston to catch up. I am hoping by the summer break this team has fixed enough of their problems that they can concentrate on making the package better for 2027.

They have the resources, talent and a works Honda deal that must become competitive sooner than later. I am not sure Lawrence Stroll has the temperament or patience to wait years for Honda to come good, however. He might have Audi's number handy to get that powertrain for next year if things don't start to turn around by the Dutch Grand Prix. Audi are only supplying one team so that makes a lot of sense to get that package, if it looks competitive and reliable, and Honda are still in deep trouble. Hopefully the team at Sakura can get on top of their challenges, and Aston can fix the problems on the car side so they can compete.

The real pecking order will move around a lot this season as we go track to track, and the different lay outs may favor a smaller turbo like the Ferrari engine more often. Audi looks like it might have a big turbo based on the launch off the line and the top speeds they achieved in testing. I have no idea if Honda has a big or small turbo yet as they have not run the car long enough to tell the characteristics at all.

We only have a few more days left now to see what these teams really have up their sleeves. Whatever the outcome I hope it is an exciting race, and Aston Martin can complete enough laps to get more data to help them work on vibration fixes, and the set up for the car. The Japanese GP on March 28th might be the last race for a full month if both Bahrain, and the Saudi races are cancelled/postponed. This really would be the absolute best outcome for this team to get additional time to look for answers.

[venkyhere]

the Aston Honda project is not for the faint hearted .Newey was brought in to shake up the team and bring glory .he is taking risks and pushing the team out of their comfort zone. The car looks very slim compared to others ,its like comparing a runaway model from Europe with a plus size model from America. Honda has took on the challenge too.so despite all the challenges the relationship between the two parties is conflict free and working well according to people from Honda.so i belief it will bear fruit but they will be pain to go through.

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

Then they shouldn't have been so bullish to milk the 'by design' PR marketing campaign to the last udder.

If the team didn't realize, by mid-2025, that they are in trouble (particularly so with the struggle Honda were in, finding their way back in, particularly with the lowered compression ratio & synthetic fuel, as detailed in that reddit link which was posted a short while back in this thread) ; and still made 'aggressive requests' from chassis side as feedback to Honda (which wasn't pushed back, very uncharacteristically by the Japanese) despite being the first year of a new engine formula, and still went ahead on 'hope' ; and piled on the marketing as cherry on top ;

you can't blame a fan of the sport, who knows none of those inside stories, to have expected the team to hit the ground running.

Audi, with a 1st timer PU maker team, and inheriting the Sauber chassis and race staff, plus, Cadillac (when did it become clear that it wouldn't be Andretti, and when did they start hiring ? late 2023 ? or early 2024 ?) who 'bought' an engine from Ferrari, both managed to successfully integrate the engine with chassis and ran the car. Would it be preposterous to expect a much more experienced team, with state-of-the-art facilities and marquee engineering leadership like AMR, to not have had the 9 days of disaster ? I don't think so.

It's all fine to have excuses about 'lack of time' (Newey should know, a man of his experience, that making last minute requests to PU guys is going to open a can of reliability worms), team integration, leadership, communication issues, clash of egos (there was even a change in the team's structure, barely a month(?) before the first test) etc , in hindsight ; but it simply doesn't fly when we have evidence of 'minnow' teams getting it right before the first day of test.

Don't blame a fan of the sport who expected a not-even-the-lead-midfielder-since-early-2023 team to have finally gotten their act right, with such aggressive investment and hiring, a 'marquee designer' who is part-owner, and having PU from a company whose product won 4 championships on the trot.

[Leon Kennedy]

Sorry mate, I too wanted AMR26 to be a winning car off-the-blocks and hurt the big-four. However, that post's an overload of copium, not everything can be turned into 'see the silver lining'. The team structure, management, exchange between team and PU supplier, general 'team vibes' -- all down in the doldrums right now. There is only one way to go - "up". But that doesn't mean fantasy-praise is going to help.

That's naive and unrealistic. You can't built an entirely new factory with state of the art equipment bring new people built new gearbox and suspension elements switch it all on and decimate the competition. It has never been done and it will never be done the team will have to learn to crawl before they can walk let alone run.simply they had to undergo a development process testing experimenting ensuring models fit reality and that take time .

Then they shouldn't have been so bullish to milk the 'by design' PR marketing campaign to the last udder.

If the team didn't realize, by mid-2025, that they are in trouble (particularly so with the struggle Honda were in, finding their way back in, particularly with the lowered compression ratio & synthetic fuel, as detailed in that reddit link which was posted a short while back in this thread) ; and still made 'aggressive requests' from chassis side as feedback to Honda (which wasn't pushed back, very uncharacteristically by the Japanese) despite being the first year of a new engine formula, and still went ahead on 'hope' ; and piled on the marketing as cherry on top ;

you can't blame a fan of the sport, who knows none of those inside stories, to have expected the team to hit the ground running.

Audi, with a 1st timer PU maker team, and inheriting the Sauber chassis and race staff, plus, Cadillac (when did it become clear that it wouldn't be Andretti, and when did they start hiring ? late 2023 ? or early 2024 ?) who 'bought' an engine from Ferrari, both managed to successfully integrate the engine with chassis and ran the car. Would it be preposterous to expect a much more experienced team, with state-of-the-art facilities and marquee engineering leadership like AMR, to not have had the 9 days of disaster ? I don't think so.

It's all fine to have excuses about 'lack of time' (Newey should know, a man of his experience, that making last minute requests to PU guys is going to open a can of reliability worms), team integration, leadership, communication issues, clash of egos (there was even a change in the team's structure, barely a month(?) before the first test) etc , in hindsight ; but it simply doesn't fly when we have evidence of 'minnow' teams getting it right before the first day of test.

Don't blame a fan of the sport who expected a not-even-the-lead-midfielder-since-early-2023 team to have finally gotten their act right, with such aggressive investment and hiring, a 'marquee designer' who is part-owner, and having PU from a company whose product won 4 championships on the trot.

I completely agree with you. I personally read not all, but almost all, of the official statements, and no one kept expectations low. Then I remind all those who pass judgment, that there hasn't even been a race. We still don't know anything about the performances. Maybe in Australia one of Alonso and Stroll will finish in top 10 and everything will be overturned.


We do not yet know the important parameters to optimally assess the situation. As someone said, we don't know how the fuel (aramco),the lubricant (Valvoline) which according to rumours gave problems, gearbox and new engine spec will work, not to mention the completely different aerodynamics they say will be in Australia. A lower-level team does this? I would have expected a more conservative approach, like Audi and Cadillac, who showed up with a basic car. Instead we see the only car on the grid with a rear suspension attached to the pylon and actuators for the two front and rear wings completely different from others. Not to mention the engine cooling, I think they were the most extreme team in Bahrain. A team projected to finish 20th doesn't do these things, guys.

[diffuser]

Then they shouldn't have been so bullish to milk the 'by design' PR marketing campaign to the last udder.

The team can't control what the media are gonna say. The team has to sell advertising, AN is a huge draw on people who want to see his design. It only make sense to hype that. A casual fan could have mistaken that for hype for winning but most of the people that visit this forum on the reg know, you need to show you can walk before you can run and AMR GP hasn't shown either.

If the team didn't realize, by mid-2025, that they are in trouble (particularly so with the struggle Honda were in, finding their way back in, particularly with the lowered compression ratio & synthetic fuel, as detailed in that reddit link which was posted a short while back in this thread) ; and still made 'aggressive requests' from chassis side as feedback to Honda (which wasn't pushed back, very uncharacteristically by the Japanese) despite being the first year of a new engine formula, and still went ahead on 'hope' ; and piled on the marketing as cherry on top ;

1 - So the CR issue only started in October 2025 when the regulations were updated to specify that the “CR would be tested at ambient temperature.” The teams protested, and perhaps the FIA indicated that a change would be made. They have since confirmed that, starting June 1st, CR will be tested at both ambient temperature and 130°C, followed by testing at only 130°C from next year onward.

Now, I presume the teams knew this change was coming. Because if Mercedes were (or are) exceeding the 16:1 CR limit, the ICE has already been homologated and therefore cannot be changed for June 1st. Therefore, I think the teams have known for some time that the CR issue would be settled in favor of the other teams, and that they have been testing with ICEs that will meet the 16:1 CR limit at 130°C.

2 - The changes requested by AMR GP to Honda on the PU were for packaging and integration. They did not effect how the PU ran.

BTW that reddit thing was mostly garbage. It conflated many different issues into propaganda.

you can't blame a fan of the sport, who knows none of those inside stories, to have expected the team to hit the ground running.

Audi, with a 1st timer PU maker team, and inheriting the Sauber chassis and race staff, plus, Cadillac (when did it become clear that it wouldn't be Andretti, and when did they start hiring ? late 2023 ? or early 2024 ?) who 'bought' an engine from Ferrari, both managed to successfully integrate the engine with chassis and ran the car. Would it be preposterous to expect a much more experienced team, with state-of-the-art facilities and marquee engineering leadership like AMR, to not have had the 9 days of disaster ? I don't think so.

It's all fine to have excuses about 'lack of time' (Newey should know, a man of his experience, that making last minute requests to PU guys is going to open a can of reliability worms), team integration, leadership, communication issues, clash of egos (there was even a change in the team's structure, barely a month(?) before the first test) etc , in hindsight ; but it simply doesn't fly when we have evidence of 'minnow' teams getting it right before the first day of test.

You do know that the move to AMR/Honda PU integration of Cowell was described as something he volunteered for. Alot of the media suggested it was a power grab by Newey. Maybe what they actually told the media was the truth. They saw a need there and Cowell, being the experience PU guy stepped up. A need we only saw coming at the the preseason tests. I remember reading Newey say, he was planning on being at the first few races anyway.

Don't blame a fan of the sport who expected a not-even-the-lead-midfielder-since-early-2023 team to have finally gotten their act right, with such aggressive investment and hiring, a 'marquee designer' who is part-owner, and having PU from a company whose product won 4 championships on the trot.

That's just sport, you just never know.

[dren]

Season hasn't even started and people think this is going to be a shitbox for the entire season. I still expect podiums at some point in the 2nd half.

[diffuser]

Season hasn't even started and people think this is going to be a shitbox for the entire season. I still expect podiums at some point in the 2nd half.

I kind of feel like you do but am more race to race....we have to see them start to push the PU.

[Waz]

With a Mercedes in the car, none of this panic happens. Newey designs the car his way and it works.

[FNTC]

Season hasn't even started and people think this is going to be a shitbox for the entire season. I still expect podiums at some point in the 2nd half.

I kind of feel like you do but am more race to race....we have to see them start to push the PU.

I also think the package has lots of potential. Alonso had faster 0-200 kph than the Audis with a detuned power unit and lots of vibration issues. The question is if they can get on top of these issues within a few races, or if it requires severe redesigns. Will be interesting to see.

[bluechris]

They will find the solution pretty fast, im very confident. As long there is no other issue with the engine or with heat exchange (because they haven't done any laps with full power).

[Seanspeed]

Season hasn't even started and people think this is going to be a shitbox for the entire season. I still expect podiums at some point in the 2nd half.

Getting the engine into shape will take time. There's also likely to be eight cars exchanging podiums throughout the season, so getting up amongst them would require a heck of an uplift in overall competitiveness, especially on a Sunday where lacking in engine power is gonna make actually racing against others very tough.