2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[diffuser]

I also understood at the beginning of the season that the car's aerodynamic design was radical. And that the rear was revolutionary with the suspension attached to the gearbox cassette and a spectacular rake. And blah-blah-blah.

Now, with the season well underway and some awful results, problems that no one imagined during the car's pompous presentation are starting to show up. Back then, a "certain delay" was acknowledged due to changes of opinions regarding the engine components and—of course—because of such a radical and revolutionary design.

Until now, I hadn't heard Newey talk about his health. Yes, he had had some illness that seemed mild. But now we're talking about almost a year dealing with an unknown ailment that can't be just a cold. It's also the first time I hear him say that things were done in a rush.They used concepts that were as consistent and proven as possible to save time above all. Leaving aside more innovative solutions. Because they were in a hurry.

They came up with the idea of making their own gearbox. Something they should have done earlier, with the MB engines just like McLaren did. It seemed simple, but the famous vibrations appeared, which I'm still not clear where they come from. Whether from a particular component or from the interaction of several elements.

The car is a lemon. They knew it from the first day of testing. The engine is another lemon, for now. The chassis was built almost clumsily due to the rush, which is why they think that if they do it more carefully, they won’t have problems with the weight. The rear suspension will also be revised. Apparently, almost the only thing that will remain are the front wings.

Calming the rear refers to the fact that most problems seem to be there: engines, gearbox, suspension, wing, and a peculiar rake.

It seems normal to me that they don't air their problems. It's not smart to hand out information. But this current season has been a disaster for AM, and that's undeniable. I've been waiting since the start for a strong response, a radical improvement in the car, for them to find the right touch. That hasn't happened, and I think now the details that caused this mess will gradually come to light as we watch the changes they make. I really don't understand how they could have done things so badly given who they are, and I'm mainly talking about Newey. The situation has been too much for him. He might have been sick, but I would never have imagined the current situation. They've acted, in my opinion, with a great lack of professionalism so far.

There's one more thing: the work in the pits doesn't seem to have improved either. I'm not talking about strategies, since with this car those are somewhat unattainable. I'm talking about the simple pit stops to change tires. I miss the team's excitement from 2023.

I hope that from Hungary the results improve, evidently. It's my only hope. I hope they help me forget the current disappointment, which has actually been something constant since 2024.

In Newey's defense, he has been saying since he started that they were 4 months behind. There was upheaval at AMR before Newey joined and even after he joined, as he cleaned house. What's worse, his chosen Lieutenant, Cardile, tried to start in January but got taken to court by Ferrari resulting in a gardening leave extension till July of 2025. The writing was on the wall for both AMR Honda and we chose not to believe it. With AMR, it wasn't so much unprofessionalism as it was late to the dance with their 2 main technical leads.

[GoranF1]

Is it possible they find a 2 second upgrade with the new B spec car, and they are still last?

i think its possible they find 4 seconds and still be last.

Whit 2.6 from chassis and 0.5 from engine upgrade would put Alonso p10 in SPA FP3.

[Otromundo]

Yes, Luigi, you’re right about that. And they’ve bought or modified so many things in their own organization and facilities that the challenge of having everything ready on time was quite a task.

But I was expecting something else, or if you prefer: I didn’t expect this. Precisely because the huge investment made deserved more attention and care. Even more so after the exciting 2023 season and the subsequent disappointments until last year.

From the start, I’ve been surprised by the lack of planning considering the team’s investments and ambitions. I think it’s positive that they respect the gardening so much, though I’m also surprised they didn’t foresee these situations in some way.

Anyway, what worries me most is the lack of drive and ambition in the team. Especially in the pits.

[diffuser]

Yes, Luigi, you’re right about that. And they’ve bought or modified so many things in their own organization and facilities that the challenge of having everything ready on time was quite a task.

But I was expecting something else, or if you prefer: I didn’t expect this. Precisely because the huge investment made deserved more attention and care. Even more so after the exciting 2023 season and the subsequent disappointments until last year.

From the start, I’ve been surprised by the lack of planning considering the team’s investments and ambitions. I think it’s positive that they respect the gardening so much, though I’m also surprised they didn’t foresee these situations in some way.

Anyway, what worries me most is the lack of drive and ambition in the team. Especially in the pits.

I agree with points like these: why wasn't Cowell all over Honda's @ss? Why did it have to wait until the problems became apparent? There were so many Honda rumors swirling around that it was pretty obvious you needed someone overseeing the power unit integration.

Cowell was acting as team principal, but he wasn't really doing the job. Something like the vibration issue should have been caught during the integration process. The problem is that the first time the new chassis and power unit were probably integrated was in January 2026.

Clearly, Cowell didn't know what he was doing. Newey arrived in March, but he's probably putting as much effort into assessing the organization as he is into working on the 2026 challenger. Remember, a lot of people were let go in 2025, so it's no surprise that some of his focus has been on restructuring the team.

Anyways, it is what it is.

[Otromundo]

Well, I prefer to be optimistic about the future. I didn’t expect this, but as you say, it is what it is. And it has a positive side: it can’t get any worse, I guess.

I also understand that the people in the pits have lost their spark: seeing the time differences, it’s going to be very hard to keep morale up.

I’m curious to see the modifications in Hungary to see if they give any clues about what’s going on apart from the engine performance. I imagine they’ll keep the front end and that the changes will be mainly at the back. We’ll see what happens with the suspension, its mounts, the rake, and the wing.

Though the most critical thing is the engine or the transmission as a whole. Besides the engine lacking power, it always seemed to me that something in the transmission isn’t right. It was already the case in 2024-25, or at least it seemed that way to me. I thought with a custom gearbox I’d forget about it, but no. It’s like the rear end lacks grip.

We’ll see in Hungary. Because in Spa... I think we’ve already seen it all !!

[FNTC]

3.6s off the best Audi in P11 in the first run in Q1.

They keep running through MGU-Ks and batteries too still, I wonder if it is vibration related or other issues there.
Lance with a 4th MGU-K at FP1 yesterday, Alonso with 5th battery and electronics today.

"The following Power Unit elements have been used:
5th Energy Store (ES)
5th Control Electronics Unit (PU-CE)
7th Power Unit Ancillary Component (PU-ANC)"

[ispano6]

Asked on Thursday in the Spa

paddock about the positives of the AMR26 in its current configuration, Lance Stroll did not try to hide his frustration: "We can only go forward, so that's positive. I mean, right now, yeah, it's been pretty terrible. There's nothing great, there's nothing we like about our car, there's no strengths, so we can only get better."

"We have entry instability and braking in medium-low speed. And then we have this kind of aero stalling, that kind of front-to-floor, front-wing stalling, where we just completely wash out in high-speed corners, so there's a few limitations," Stroll said.


"Some of these aerodynamic stalls are very hard to see on the pressure taps and where it's coming from. So I'm just trying to kind of give more of an idea to the guys back in Silverstone that are doing aero and everything, what we're feeling in the car. Sometimes it's hard for them to see it just on data."

Returning to the package expected in Hungary, Stroll detailed the team's technical objectives: "We're hoping we improve some of the characteristics, more downforce for sure, but some of these bad aero characteristics that we've had for a long time, we're hoping that we can make a healthier car and just a nicer car to drive."

While the Honda engine had so far seemed to be Aston Martin's main handicap, the team is also suffering from a significant downforce deficit. Asked about a possible link between the lack of power and the car's understeer, Stroll insisted that the two problems were independent.

"I think it's two different issues," he said. "We have a lot of things to work on with drivability. We're down on just power, but then we have a lot of balance issues, limitations, and just downforce. We need to find a lot more downforce."


"I think Hungary is a good test. It's not a very power sensitive circuit, it's a chassis circuit, so that's the test," he said. "If we're still very slow in Hungary, then just the power that's coming in Zandvoort is not going to fix all our problems.

"It's not a power sensitive circuit, so it's one of those places you need downforce and good balance. If we're looking a lot more competitive in Hungary, I think that's going to be a good sign for the rest of the season."

Rather concise and elaborate for a response from Lance. I appreciate his openness in describing the aero stalling nature. As he describes, the AMR26 is fundamentally a show car in itself where BOTH the front and rear need not only weight reduction but also aerodynamic revision to eliminate the stall tendency mid corner. No amount of straightline speed can make up for these losses in the corners. Extra weight hinders the car on corners and straights. It's been said Alonso and Stroll both have called this the worst car they've driven in their careers and Alonso has the McLaren Honda as a benchmark.