2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[AR3-GP]

Not sure what this is about

Ted Kravitz:

"Aston Martin will request some kind of exemption under the cost cap. I don't think they'll grant it to them because they wouldn't grant it to any other team"

"Everything is really bad. If you think things are bad at Aston Martin, they're actually worse"

Sky Sports F1

If Aston say to the FIA ,we're not racing at the next 5 races cause we're out of batteries or what have you. If Honda supply more batteries, Honda are gonna go be over the CAP. What is the FIA gonna do ? say no ?

There is nothing that physically stops Honda from exceeding the cap. However once they exceed it, they will be subject to the penalties laid out in the financial regulations. There’s nothing for the FIA to do except to enforce their own regulations which cover overspends.

[diffuser]

2Diffuser : This is not always the case. If there is a new engine specification or a different one, it may not be the same. And everyone uses engines as they need.

If the customer agrees, it is not the same.

You'll just find exceptions. It doesn't apply universally.

The engines can also be muted, HPP will not allow full power,

If you want to know why there is such a difference in performance between the Mercedes-supplied teams and Mercedes itself, the answer is likely that the other teams don't fully understand the reasoning behind the power unit packaging choices Mercedes made. They have likely not set up their chassis to take full advantage of it.

Mercedes has also simply done a better job setting up the chassis and the car overall, and they have more information about the power unit. It has nothing to do with the hardware of the power unit itself. The customer teams’ power units and its software are as identical as they can be to the Mercedes unit.

[GoranF1]

All customer teams are doomed long term.
The only reason Mercedes allowed McLaren title last year is because of their internal problems whit wind tunnel or whatever.
Honda move was good although if they talked Toyota in it would be much better.

[les arcs]

All customer teams are doomed long term.
The only reason Mercedes allowed McLaren title last year is because of their internal problems whit wind tunnel or whatever.
Honda move was good although if they talked Toyota in it would be much better.

Remind me again Toyota’s record V’s Honda in F1……

[Redragon]

Not sure what this is about

If Aston say to the FIA ,we're not racing at the next 5 races cause we're out of batteries or what have you. If Honda supply more batteries, Honda are gonna go be over the CAP. What is the FIA gonna do ? say no ?

There is nothing that physically stops Honda from exceeding the cap. However once they exceed it, they will be subject to the penalties laid out in the financial regulations. There’s nothing for the FIA to do except to enforce their own regulations which cover overspends.

But maybe there is a way around because of the cost on the changing in regulations from FIA. If you force the teams to change the engines every 4 years and limit their budget. At some point might not be good business for most of the teams and not participate. Also if they change in two months regulations to adapt because this new engines are not suitable for spectators and everyone are not having fun driving then why would not the FIA would be a bit flexible on the spending now to allow them to be at least participating on full races and make repayments on the long term, spend more this year but next few years would spend a bit less to make the difference. Surely they want teams and drivers to be happy to participate on future plans.

[avantman]

This doesn't add up to me. 80hp in Melbourne would be worth 2.1 seconds (15hp = 4 tenths in Australia). Another 1 second on chassis makes 3.1 seconds. Alonso qualified 2.6 seconds away from the Mercedes. So with these numbers The Aston Martin would be half a second in front of Mercedes.

Is that realistic?

Well, it´s a Newey car afterall

Yeah, right, just like the MP4-18 was.

[FNTC]

If people don't see that the car has potential they have some bias. Alonso was fighting with Alpines with a detuned engine and severly compromised preseason testing. If they were able to run the engine to full potential I think they would at least fight the Audis.

[diffuser]

Not sure what this is about

If Aston say to the FIA ,we're not racing at the next 5 races cause we're out of batteries or what have you. If Honda supply more batteries, Honda are gonna go be over the CAP. What is the FIA gonna do ? say no ?

There is nothing that physically stops Honda from exceeding the cap. However once they exceed it, they will be subject to the penalties laid out in the financial regulations. There’s nothing for the FIA to do except to enforce their own regulations which cover overspends.

Good point!

A “Material Overspend Breach” arises when Relevant Costs exceed the Power Unit Cost Cap by 5% or more.

Below 5%, it's a slap on the wrist. Above 5%, the gloves are off. Can be points, CAP dedication, refuse homologation, etc.

[Leon Kennedy]

Not sure what this is about

Ted Kravitz:

"Aston Martin will request some kind of exemption under the cost cap. I don't think they'll grant it to them because they wouldn't grant it to any other team"

"Everything is really bad. If you think things are bad at Aston Martin, they're actually worse"

Sky Sports F1

Given the recent reports from the same source that have not materialized, I simply think that in my opinion he knows nothing about Aston Martin and Honda.

[Leon Kennedy]

Where did the figure of 80 or 100 hp come from? Alonso confirmed after qualifying that they are running with less power to avoid further problems. But the exact figure remains a mystery.

If the engine really had 100 HP intrinsically and was purposely detuned, along with the non-setup changes, Aston Martin with these adjustments without updates, would easily lead ahead of Mercedes.

The question is, will they be able to unlock these 100 hp? That's the concern, and honestly, I don't trust Honda right now. So we'll see, it won't be easy at all. But imagine If they could do it, it would be sensational. Superior to Brawn GP.

[Badger]

Where did the figure of 80 or 100 hp come from? Alonso confirmed after qualifying that they are running with less power to avoid further problems. But the exact figure remains a mystery.

If the engine really had 100 HP intrinsically and was purposely detuned, along with the non-setup changes, Aston Martin with these adjustments without updates, would easily lead ahead of Mercedes.

The question is, will they be able to unlock these 100 hp? That's the concern, and honestly, I don't trust Honda right now. So we'll see, it won't be easy at all. But imagine If they could do it, it would be sensational. Superior to Brawn GP.

It's a carbon copy of 2015. Back then there were constant rumours coming from Honda saying "we'll unlock this many HP by this race" and "we're driving in power mode 2 for reliability but in mode 4 our ICE engine is more powerful than Mercedes". None of it ever materialised. Anyone can turn up their engine for more power, can you run it there for 7 weekends though?

[TyreSlip]

It's a carbon copy of 2015. Back then there were constant rumours coming from Honda saying "we'll unlock this many HP by this race" and "we're driving in power mode 2 for reliability but in mode 4 our ICE engine is more powerful than Mercedes". None of it ever materialised. Anyone can turn up their engine for more power, can you run it there for 7 weekends though?

This. I am not falling for it again.

[FNTC]

They will probably still be 20hp or something behind if they fix the vibrations/reliability. That is within the realm of Neweys aero to at least fight with the top half of the teams, maybe more.

[LookingGlass]

All customer teams are doomed long term.
The only reason Mercedes allowed McLaren title last year is because of their internal problems whit wind tunnel or whatever.
Honda move was good although if they talked Toyota in it would be much better.

Remind me again Toyota’s record V’s Honda in F1……

A better comparison than what Toyota did vs Honda almost 20 years ago is what they have done since then. From what I recall, during the time both shared the grid (2000-2009), Honda had 1 win to Toyota's 0, with any Honda powered teams best constructors finish being 2nd while Toyota's is 4th. Was Honda better? Sure.

Toyota had a drastic change in how it approached motorsports and actually invested long term in their Gazoo Racing division. Honda still does what they've always done in motorsports as a whole... inconsistent with moments of brilliance.

In the last 20 years, Toyota has -

7 Le Mans victories, 6 WEC Manufacturer Championships, 5 WRC titles, multiple titles in Super GT, multiple victories from Super Formula Toyota powered teams, 3 wins and 4 W2RC titles in Dakar, 200+ NASCAR Cup wins and 3 manufacturer titles, 13 championships in NASCAR Truck series

I won't downplay Honda's success in IndyCar and MotoGP, they have a great history and have been wildly successful and continue to be. And in their defense, F1 is a more costly series to compete in so naturally they haven't had the funds to build a resume like Toyota across multiple series.

That said, if they keep hitting the reset button every few years, that doesn't really help things.

[Rodak]

If the engine really had 100 HP intrinsically and was purposely detuned, along with the non-setup changes, Aston Martin with these adjustments without updates, would easily lead ahead of Mercedes.

The question is, will they be able to unlock these 100 hp? That's the concern, and honestly, I don't trust Honda right now. So we'll see, it won't be easy at all. But imagine If they could do it, it would be sensational. Superior to Brawn GP.

???? Brawn ran a Mercedes engine.