2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[zoroastar]

I don’t know how to feel, weird but also this is not F1 and not racing

It is an energy management race…. Better and more efficient PU wins.

yeah these engine regs are stupid, but it was some pretty good racing until the first pitstops. still have to wait and see a few more races.

aston look way better than i expected to start. it seems like alonso liked the car in that first lap haha. but maybe im over analyzing. fingers crossed for japan fixes

[Ashwinv16]

I am going to cap off this race weekend with a bit of positivity on this forum.
- Vibrations have improved massively, but its clear they increase with lower fuel, a better integration will be there for China, but it will be on the same battery so no upgrades.
- Lance Stroll did the most continues laps (38) so far for Aston and showed car is faster than the Cadillac
- The first three laps showed with the battery and the mguk at full working potential, the car recharges and deploys just as well as all other cars and he was about to overtake Gasly for 9ths but then had to slow down as the ICE was 100hp down.
- Thus the MGUK is clearly the only component working on the car and its working well, ICE is the problem but homologation means more power for next year hopefully unless Honda repasts a 2017 but Andy cowell should ensure they don't do that.(currently ice will be 10-20hp down for the whole season after vibrations are fixed, for suzuka or china(honda might fast track upgrades considering the data they managed to collect this race)
- If the vibrations are fully fixed for Suzuka a better look at the battery reliability and deployment means due to the 50/50 split the 20hp lower ice won't be too much of a problem if Adrian can work with the chassis and bridge the gap
- More evidence of the MGUK is Lance's start which once the electric power kicked in he was about the fly past everyone in front including Verstappen but he chose the better of it and backed out to concentrate on running
- Speaking of Starts, the car probably has the same advantage as Ferrari.
- Finally , this is a repeat of what i said before but the best case scenario for Aston will be a repeat of 2023 but in reverse with a few podium late in the season at the very least like Sainz had with Williams. That would be a target excelled. Lets not expect race wins for this season. Obviously at the base level consistent top 10 would be good enough considering alt years car did not have that.

[AR3-GP]

Make of this what you will...Tensions are certainly bubbling, as predicted Adrian Newey did nobody any favors by tearing Honda apart in the last few days.

Watanabe DENIES Adrian Newey on the vibrations

"We have no idea how much vibration the driver is subjected to or whether it has any physical effect on him"

"I'm a bit puzzled as to why Newey spoke on behalf of the drivers"

[BassVirolla]

Make of this what you will...Tensions are certainly bubbling, as predicted Adrian Newey did nobody any favors by tearing Honda apart in the last few days.

Watanabe DENIES Adrian Newey on the vibrations

"We have no idea how much vibration the driver is subjected to or whether it has any physical effect on him"

"I'm a bit puzzled as to why Newey spoke on behalf of the drivers"

... and this denotes that Watanabe has not a clue of how politics work in F1. Even me, as an individual having nothing in the business, would stay silent about it to try and get some leniency from FIA.

[AR3-GP]

Make of this what you will...Tensions are certainly bubbling, as predicted Adrian Newey did nobody any favors by tearing Honda apart in the last few days.

Watanabe DENIES Adrian Newey on the vibrations

"We have no idea how much vibration the driver is subjected to or whether it has any physical effect on him"

"I'm a bit puzzled as to why Newey spoke on behalf of the drivers"

... and this denotes that Watanabe has not a clue of how politics work in F1. Even me, as an individual having nothing in the business, would stay silent about it to try and get some leniency from FIA.

The idea that any manufacturer is going to get concessions that go outside the rules is fantasy.

[BassVirolla]

Make of this what you will...Tensions are certainly bubbling, as predicted Adrian Newey did nobody any favors by tearing Honda apart in the last few days.

... and this denotes that Watanabe has not a clue of how politics work in F1. Even me, as an individual having nothing in the business, would stay silent about it to try and get some leniency from FIA.

The idea that any manufacturer is going to get concessions that go outside the rules is fantasy.

Well, the last time was with TD039.

[AR3-GP]

Well, the last time was with TD039.

[SealTheRealDeal]

Like Alonso said no solution for China but the battery vibration issue is getting permeant fix. No upgrades but there are reliability stuff coming for China

Wouldn't the vibration/reliability fix be a performance improvement, as they'd be able to run the engine harder and properly set up the car?

[Ashwinv16]

Like Alonso said no solution for China but the battery vibration issue is getting permeant fix. No upgrades but there are reliability stuff coming for China

Wouldn't the vibration/reliability fix be a performance improvement, as they'd be able to run the engine harder and properly set up the car?

yeah but its the same ice, they can run more power in terms of battery usage so how much more recharge and discharge yes but will likely still be the same 80 hp down but with a proper battery. So will run the race distance hopefully anf even more hopefully ahead of cadilac, bonus for top 10

[Waz]

Make of this what you will...Tensions are certainly bubbling, as predicted Adrian Newey did nobody any favors by tearing Honda apart in the last few days.

Watanabe DENIES Adrian Newey on the vibrations

"We have no idea how much vibration the driver is subjected to or whether it has any physical effect on him"

"I'm a bit puzzled as to why Newey spoke on behalf of the drivers"

... and this denotes that Watanabe has not a clue of how politics work in F1. Even me, as an individual having nothing in the business, would stay silent about it to try and get some leniency from FIA.

Honda are quite frustrating. Clearly there is a serious issue. And it needs fixing ASAP. The smart thing would be to double down on the vibration narrative from Newey, maybe even exaggerate the battery damage a bit.

You don't know until you ask.

[Bisonas]

I am going to cap off this race weekend with a bit of positivity on this forum.
...
- Finally , this is a repeat of what i said before but the best case scenario for Aston will be a repeat of 2023 but in reverse with a few podium late in the season at the very least like Sainz had with Williams. That would be a target excelled. Lets not expect race wins for this season. Obviously at the base level consistent top 10 would be good enough considering alt years car did not have that.

I agree with you.

I am in my nature an optimistic person, and i do believe with all the engineers and tools they have, they will come on top of most of their problems soon.

I also agree and believe, that in the second part of the season after the summer break, AMR will be very competitive.

They will have their chances to implement fixes even under the engine homologation, and i am starting to believe that Adrian may be overdramatizing everything at this moment, battery, ICE, harvesting, deployment, vibrations, drivers health, because he knows how this works. He knows that at some point, sooner or l8r will need some leniency at the highest level in F1 management in order to fast track the progress. Maybe it is leniency on cost cap penalties, or some form of an exception of some kind, due to safety reasons. Anything. He knows that it is best to start the politics from early on.

I also want to point out that "probably" some or many of their problems are not effected by any homologation. Mounting joints or arrangements for the vibrations or other internal arrangements, or getting the weight down, are all things that will see constant fixes or improvements.

IMO they will use the first 2 races to gather as much data as possible, and from race 3 onwards we will witness constant and substantial improvements on every race & on all areas.

I will make a bold prediction. By race 9 or 10, they will be able to reach Q3 in Qualifying, and have at least one car as a top 10 finisher in the race (on merit). After the summer break, they will be constant Q3 participants and constantly fighting for positions within the points and why not, podiums or a win with some luck.

Things are gonna progress very very fast IMO.

Even that tension between Adrian and Watanabe, personally i am not buying it so much.
Humor me, but what if this is also part of politics and is kind of staged. Tensions (in the highest management level) between an engine manufacture (representing such a huge Market) and their works team , i am sure will make Liberty Media really uncomfortable, so when the time comes and leniency at some point is needed, as i said before, it may be easier to get it.

Just my thoughts. Ofc everything is hypothetical and i may be proven completely wrong.

[GoranF1]

I am going to cap off this race weekend with a bit of positivity on this forum.
- Vibrations have improved massively, but its clear they increase with lower fuel, a better integration will be there for China, but it will be on the same battery so no upgrades.
- Lance Stroll did the most continues laps (38) so far for Aston and showed car is faster than the Cadillac
- The first three laps showed with the battery and the mguk at full working potential, the car recharges and deploys just as well as all other cars and he was about to overtake Gasly for 9ths but then had to slow down as the ICE was 100hp down.
- Thus the MGUK is clearly the only component working on the car and its working well, ICE is the problem but homologation means more power for next year hopefully unless Honda repasts a 2017 but Andy cowell should ensure they don't do that.(currently ice will be 10-20hp down for the whole season after vibrations are fixed, for suzuka or china(honda might fast track upgrades considering the data they managed to collect this race)
- If the vibrations are fully fixed for Suzuka a better look at the battery reliability and deployment means due to the 50/50 split the 20hp lower ice won't be too much of a problem if Adrian can work with the chassis and bridge the gap
- More evidence of the MGUK is Lance's start which once the electric power kicked in he was about the fly past everyone in front including Verstappen but he chose the better of it and backed out to concentrate on running
- Speaking of Starts, the car probably has the same advantage as Ferrari.
- Finally , this is a repeat of what i said before but the best case scenario for Aston will be a repeat of 2023 but in reverse with a few podium late in the season at the very least like Sainz had with Williams. That would be a target excelled. Lets not expect race wins for this season. Obviously at the base level consistent top 10 would be good enough considering alt years car did not have that.

Wait, they can't upgrade ICE after race 7?

[Bisonas]

I am going to cap off this race weekend with a bit of positivity on this forum.
- Vibrations have improved massively, but its clear they increase with lower fuel, a better integration will be there for China, but it will be on the same battery so no upgrades.
- Lance Stroll did the most continues laps (38) so far for Aston and showed car is faster than the Cadillac
- The first three laps showed with the battery and the mguk at full working potential, the car recharges and deploys just as well as all other cars and he was about to overtake Gasly for 9ths but then had to slow down as the ICE was 100hp down.
- Thus the MGUK is clearly the only component working on the car and its working well, ICE is the problem but homologation means more power for next year hopefully unless Honda repasts a 2017 but Andy cowell should ensure they don't do that.(currently ice will be 10-20hp down for the whole season after vibrations are fixed, for suzuka or china(honda might fast track upgrades considering the data they managed to collect this race)
- If the vibrations are fully fixed for Suzuka a better look at the battery reliability and deployment means due to the 50/50 split the 20hp lower ice won't be too much of a problem if Adrian can work with the chassis and bridge the gap
- More evidence of the MGUK is Lance's start which once the electric power kicked in he was about the fly past everyone in front including Verstappen but he chose the better of it and backed out to concentrate on running
- Speaking of Starts, the car probably has the same advantage as Ferrari.
- Finally , this is a repeat of what i said before but the best case scenario for Aston will be a repeat of 2023 but in reverse with a few podium late in the season at the very least like Sainz had with Williams. That would be a target excelled. Lets not expect race wins for this season. Obviously at the base level consistent top 10 would be good enough considering alt years car did not have that.

Wait, they can't upgrade ICE after race 7?

Ofc they can.

"Under the ADUO system, engine performance will be monitored throughout 2026, with formal reviews after Races 6, 12, and 18. Manufacturers judged to be lagging significantly may be granted extra test-bench hours, limited cost cap relief, or additional chances to modify their homologated power units"

It all has to do, on how bad Honda engine will look by race 6

But even if they get the 4% mark, and the 2 additional upgrades, lead times are unknown.

[hollus]

Call it copium, but I predicted this after day 1 in Barcelona and I am predicting it again after Australia.

This car will win a race in 2026.

There. Said. Seen. Cannot be unseen.

The whining (nerve damage, electrocution, really?) smells of politics to get some exceptions and at least guarantee 2 ADUOs. The 80 HP down is... unthinkable. Clearly some creative math went into that, something like with the vibration issues we have to downrate the battereis and, including that, at peak, we are 80HP down.
The aero is so extreme that is has to be genius or madness, and cornering speeds look decent?
An untested, un set-up car, "80 HP" down in power and probably overweight is 2.5 seconds off the top...
When everything runs at 98%, this will be a top 5 car, and with such wonky aero choices, there will be a track where it is just perfect...

Win predicted. Mock me in December.

[Leon Kennedy]

Call it copium, but I predicted this after day 1 in Barcelona and I am predicting it again after Australia.

This car will win a race in 2026.

There. Said. Seen. Cannot be unseen.

The whining (nerve damage, electrocution, really?) smells of politics to get some exceptions and at least guarantee 2 ADUOs. The 80 HP down is... unthinkable. Clearly some creative math went into that, something like with the vibration issues we have to downrate the battereis and, including that, at peak, we are 80HP down.
The aero is so extreme that is has to be genius or madness, and cornering speeds look decent?
An untested, un set-up car, "80 HP" down in power and probably overweight is 2.5 seconds off the top...
When everything runs at 98%, this will be a top 5 car, and with such wonky aero choices, there will be a track where it is just perfect...

Win predicted. Mock me in December.

I completely agree with you.
The car is easily the best in the midfield, I think if they manage to manage reliability and unlock the intrinsic power already in Japan, they can be in Q3 regularly. For the podium, some engine improvements are needed with ADUO in my opinion