2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[Bisonas]

Tyre wear could worsen slightly if there is more power from Honda during acceleration in the future. There will be a need for more rear downforce. Rear of the car, diffuser area remains very simple compared to the top teams, lots of detail missing, so there is a lot of potential there.

Regarding tyre wear what you say it's true but i think it will be a factor only on stop and go, rear limited type of tracks with a lot of heavy acceleration zones. I don't think it is such a big factor on front limited tracks.
Either way i would easily always choose more power to what ever penalty that gives on tyre wear. I think that the compounded positive effects of more power is way more crucial and strong than any let's say negative effects.

Now regarding the rear of the car and the diffuser that seems simple as you said i don't really have the technical knowledge to argue with you because i am not an aerodynamicist, but because i like to analyze data and make my arguments based on them, for the conversation sake i would like to point out that AMR was one of the fastest if not the fastest car from t7 to t9 at Zandvoort (running on free air) and best of the rest in overall cornering speed while running on free air. If in did the diffuser is that simple as you said compared to others then that's even more encouraging news.

I'm, not sure that's true. The potential is there to cause more damage to the tire, as Stroll shows us at every race. If you have more power but the driver adjust his throttle response so he only deploys the same amount of power at the same time as before and waits till he's at a high enough speed(enough down force) to deploy full power, there isn't gonna be more degradation. If he's at a higher speed there is be more deg on braking but it doesn't mean he will not do the same thing as he did at Zandvoort in the later stages of the Soft tire stint and not use 8th gear.

One also has to imagine that when drivability improves, that will have a positive effect on tire wear.

Yes you are probably right. Or at least if there is any negative effect of having more power is negligible or easy controllable either with engine software and in general with power delivery, deployment & drivability adjustments or even with driving style adjustments.

Bad drivability or abnormal power delivery (over delivering on corner exits for example and acceleration zones) can probably be more punishing for the tires than just having more engine power in general or more deployment in general.

But suspension and aero IMO plays a much bigger factor on tyre wear and that's why we saw AMR having excellent tyre wear with arguably not well refined drivability.

[SSJ4]

Well rumours about Aston Martin going back to Mercedes engines for 2028. Depending on Hondas progression have started.

[Jambier]

Well rumours about Aston Martin going back to Mercedes engines for 2028. Depending on Hondas progression have started.

Toto Wolff was in Aston Martin garage at Zandvoort, and also earlier this year.
From that, they talked about engine change rumors

[TyreSlip]

Well rumours about Aston Martin going back to Mercedes engines for 2028. Depending on Hondas progression have started.

Which is silly because I thought they had a contract with Honda through 2030.

[Bill]

Well rumours about Aston Martin going back to Mercedes engines for 2028. Depending on Hondas progression have started.

they were 4 second behind at the start of season they found some perfomance great but you cant put all the blame on pu.i still reiterate aston had merc pu before and what did they achieve with it honda meanwhile was winning championships.as for honda there approach to f1 is not compatible with the team they race with ,they are always stubborn and insist of using f1 as learning rope for there young engineers ,if thats how they want to roll they should not have sold their team to Brawn and their drivers would not be suffering looking for seats somewhere.they should get serious and buy williams

[Rikrikrik]

I believe this rumored move by Aston Martin to look for Mercedes—or another manufacturer—for 2028 is more of a safeguard; after all, it’s a business matter. But honestly, I find Honda very slow in everything they do—they’re always lagging behind. I think this is mostly about putting pressure on Honda, as they still lack agility. They don't seem to care much about the sense of urgency that exists in Formula 1.

[Rikrikrik]

I believe this rumored move by Aston Martin to look for Mercedes—or another manufacturer—for 2028 is more of a safeguard; after all, it’s a business matter. But honestly, I find Honda very slow in everything they do—they’re always lagging behind. I think this is mostly about putting pressure on Honda, as they still lack agility. They don't seem to care much about the sense of urgency that exists in Formula 1.

[KimiRai]

Watanabe recently was keen to mention that they've rehired engineers, brought back some of Red Bull era people back to work, and that they know the path to success and will try to shorten the time as quick as they can. Not sure if both pieces of information are disconnected. Very hopeful news in any case from Watanabe.

Orihara was smiling before the weekend (even a little playful with that sign to the media ) but his face was a little more serious afterwards. ALO, STR, Krack and Newey have been diplomatic but reading between the lines I would say they are not yet satisfied with Honda's spec 2 so far. IMO only a pressure act for now, I think not being a customer is plan A, they want Honda to fully commit and recover as quick as possible. As we all do, and as Honda wants the chassis to recover too.

(all of this is just an opinion, and my read might very well be wrong)

[selvam_e2002]

The Honda is more reactive instead of proactive. This is second time they are doing like this.

[diffuser]

Watanabe recently was keen to mention that they've rehired engineers, brought back some of Red Bull era people back to work, and that they know the path to success and will try to shorten the time as quick as they can. Not sure if both pieces of information are disconnected.

Orihara was smiling before the weekend (even a little playful with that sign to the media ) but his face was a little more serious afterwards. ALO, STR, Krack and Newey have been diplomatic but if you read between the lines, especially the drivers I would say they are not satisfied with Honda's spec 2 so far. IMO only a pressure act for now, I think not being a customer is plan A, they want Honda to fully commit and recover as quick as possible.

(all of this is just an opinion, and my read might very well be wrong)

Orihara's interviews around the time that Ferrari was launching there new ADUO ICE, gave me the impression that they hadn't found much improvement. At the time they only had a better lubrication. Not sure why you need a new ICE to use improved lubrication, if anyone knows, let me know. I try to improve my lubrication as often as possible!

Like you though that was just reading something that was translated so my reading between the lines could be off by a country kilometer. I'm gonna give them the benefit of doubt for now.

[bigblue]

They've been talking a lot about better combustion as well as friction, I think some significant parts were changed.

[bigblue]

I'm not sure if this will persuade people that engine lead times are long, for all manufacturers, or whether that will upset you even more!

From https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1092945/1 ... -explained

“The lead times on engine development are very long,” Audi boss Mattia Binotto explained at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“We have assessed, I believe, that most of the gap we got to the top teams is from the power unit, which is not unexpected. We knew that would have been the biggest challenge.

“And we have got a plan to recover. But engine development, especially when it comes to some concepts, can take longer. It's not by chance that we have set 2030 as our objective [for competing for world championships].

“Because we know that it will take long. And I think what we need now is to be patient as well. We are very ambitious and we would like to see things solved in a couple of races. But sometimes that's not the case.

“So I think we need to understand exactly where we are as a team, what are the plans. And as well, stick to the plans. Because miracles are not possible.

Also bear in mind both Ferrari and Audi have brought updated engines, and I don't recall a big uptick, at least Honda produced something in relatively short order (by PU standards) and Aston bagged 9th mostly on merit on the debut of the new engine. It was also reliable, though we'll see how that goes over the next few races as well. Whether you believe the engine contributed or not to this change in fortune is up to you.

Finally, Honda are targeting a good step for 2027 as well, again, up to you whether you believe in it, and whether you can wait.

By the way, where's the new gearbox?

[peewon]

I'm projecting more for next year. They're still too far behind power wise this year We'll see how it plays out when they bring the drivability back. I doudt Mercedes is holding back and losing races.

Yeah end of next year is probably the most optimistic timeline for AM with Honda to compete for race wins. Although, Honda's course correction has taken another setback so who knows. The spread is so big, it feels like they have made huge gains but they are still a long way off.

Its not likely, but Mercedes do have a history of sandbagging to keep the regulations as they are. They have a comfortable lead in both championships and they can wait for a "upgrade" that will open up an advantage again. People in general (fans and drivers especially) are not happy with the regs for the racing they are providing and there is immense pressure to 'fix them'. Its only been a couple of races where they have "lost" (finished second). If they are not in winning contention on pace, you normally here some regulations related 'politicking' in the media from them. Next few races will be interesting to see.

[KimiRai]

I'm not sure if this will persuade people that engine lead times are long, for all manufacturers, or whether that will upset you even more!

From https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1092945/1 ... -explained

“The lead times on engine development are very long,” Audi boss Mattia Binotto explained at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“We have assessed, I believe, that most of the gap we got to the top teams is from the power unit, which is not unexpected. We knew that would have been the biggest challenge.

“And we have got a plan to recover. But engine development, especially when it comes to some concepts, can take longer. It's not by chance that we have set 2030 as our objective [for competing for world championships].

“Because we know that it will take long. And I think what we need now is to be patient as well. We are very ambitious and we would like to see things solved in a couple of races. But sometimes that's not the case.

“So I think we need to understand exactly where we are as a team, what are the plans. And as well, stick to the plans. Because miracles are not possible.

Also bear in mind both Ferrari and Audi have brought updated engines, and I don't recall a big uptick, at least Aston bagged 9th mostly on merit on the debut of the new engine (and it was reliable - we'll see how that goes over the next few races as well). Whether you believe the engine contributed or not to this change in fortune is up to you.

Finally, Honda are targeting a good step for 2027 as well, again, up to you whether you believe in it, and whether you can wait.

By the way, where's the new gearbox?

Surely they are aware of those lead times as you say. Which is why I doubt this is something actually serious, at worst some pressure for Honda to commit more resources. Plus, Mercedes have lots of customers already and they were even talking about reducing the amount. Honda-AM marriage will continue, it would have to be a disaster in 2027 for it to go wrong.

[KimiRai]

Carlos Miquel with a wealth of information:

- Honda engineers say that due to there being such a substantial change in combustion characteristics they need time to adapt software compared to what was there in spec 1. He says more than a spec it's almost a new engine, with all its risks, which is why they need more races to adapt. He suggests spec 2 was about two tenths quicker at Zandvoort but is not entirely sure, but if things go well there should be an additional tenth here or there, also with weight reduction in chassis coming soon there should be a gain of some more tenths.

- New spec is decoupled from gearbox and causes plenty issues with drivability. It does give more HP (he does not enter HP number lottery due to how complicated it is to assess) and is not at its full potential due to reliability, because apparently there is a moment when it starts to vibrate, which is why Honda has opted to be more conservative.