2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[Ashwinv16]

This Jack Crawford decision to race him in FP1 might be a sign AM is phasing out Fernando Alonso and there might be a change to the driver lineup for 2027.

Max Verstappen and Jack Crawford at AM next season would be great.

I don't expect huge improvements in Japan for AM, just minor vibration improvements and focusing on reliability finishing the race. The big updates are coming around Miami/Canada with the B-spec engine.

Litrelly mentioned on the post they made the change to allow FP1, they need him for simulator correlation.

Again suzuka engine is very different they need to learn how much they need to deploy and stuff like that so they need Jack feedback to set up and correlate the simulator.

What are the big differences with the Suzuka engine ?

I don"t know the full story but first deployment will be diferrent as they will have more power from the engine so they won't have to use up allthe elctric power early. They also rumoured repositiong of the mguk but not sure how likely they. what i do know is the the makeshift solution will be removed for a permenant one that much lights bringing the car to the minimum weight and a diffrenent more denser, driveshaft and flywheel which breaks Homologation seal but will be allowed due to relability and safety concern.m, but thatbwill add 5 kgs back to the lost weight

[BassVirolla]

troll, get out of here...

Each team must run a rookie driver in FP1 twice per car per season.
That means:
- Each race driver’s car must be given up twice to a rookie.
- So across a team, that’s 4 FP1 sessions total (2 per car).
for every team.




You don't need a any drivers when you have a GP2 PU.

What did Alonso do when Aston Martin was using a Mercedes engine and Mercedes gearbox and Mercedes rear suspension for multiple seasons ?

Driving a subpar car in a mediocre team. You're welcome.

[diffuser]

What are the big differences with the Suzuka engine ?

Honda said there will be no change to the homologated parts. I presume that Honda will probably make changes to motor mounts, move weights around and stuff like that, to try and off set harmonics. F1 uncharted said AM F1 were gonna make some changes to the chassis, don't know what, to offset for vibrations.

Just because Honda says that, do you believe that? F1 teams cheat and push the limits often.

Teams are claiming Mercedes was/is cheating and not being forthcoming with compression ratio possibly having their engines have 18:1 or higher compression ratio. The FIA will restrict that now. The only reason they were caught was a former employee who was working there left and is working for another team spilt the beans.

I don't care about any "official Honda" press releases. Did Mercedes have any official press releases telling the public their engines were 18:1 or higher compression ratio ?

Well all the PU parts have all been measures against cad drawings then a serial number put on with a seal to prevent tampering. The serual number ties the part to the driver and team. You cannot break a seal, with out asking the FIA and you can't use a part that doesn't have a serial number to identify it's specs.

[Honda Porsche fan]

I wonder what Honda and Aston Martin are specifically doing behind the scenes to fix the vibration issue ?

[Honda Porsche fan]

Honda is also unable to run the PU at maximum revs due to the vibration risk, which compounds performance issues. The lack of ICE power forces greater reliance on electrical energy, draining the battery faster and creating a downward performance spiral.

If Honda can just get rid of that vibration issue they can turn up the power. Honda should have figured this out last year. Very bad F1 program management at Honda.

[Ashwinv16]

I just got more Tea, but I can't say for certainty as plans can change. So Apparently for FP1 Jack Crawford will run the new engine while Lance stroll will run the old one for comparison. The target is for Jak to be able to beat Lance time simply due to having more power and better battery deployment and have it correlate with the simulator and confirm the vibrations have been lowered(unfortunately not eliminated i guess) compared to the old engine. Before turning the power up to what possible for fp2 and then analyze if no reliability or vibration issues crop up. We might have very unrepresentative times for FP2 so don't get excited.

[zoroastar]

Newey was clear; Honda must think about 2027.
I think is the reason Cowell is in Japan; 2027

this.. with the salary cap, they cant dump a ton of money trying to fix this years power unit if they are going to have to do a complete redesign next year. it sounds like this engine is going to be lacking even when it is vibration free, and they can run it at full power. id say there is a high possibility that they are going to have to make some drastic changes in it to be competitive. if thats the case they need to stop working on 26s power unit asap to concentrate on next years, or theyll end up like mclaren for 4 years straight. constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve, until they finally admit that their design is bad.
hopefully this design turns out to be good once they can run it correctly, but somehow i doubt it..

[zoroastar]

Are there any Aston Martin and Honda fans here? Or, only Alonso loyalists?

What did Alonso do with a Mercedes engine in 2024 and 2025 ? Oh, that's the chassis' fault ? Nothing is Alonso's fault.

Alonso has been replaced by Crawford for FP1, if Alonso is so important to the team then why not replace Stroll with Crawford ?

This was a possible political decision as well, this is Honda's home race and they're not interested in Alonso possibly flipping out over the radio i.e. "GP2!!! GP2!!!"

You don't replace your supposed top driver with a rookie. This is AM's way I believe of shaking things up and looking for a new driver lineup for 2027. Again, I personally hope it's Max Verstappen and Jack Crawford or, if Jack doesn't show promise then go after Liam Lawson, Arvid Linblad, Gabriel Bortoleto or Oliver Bearman.

Lawrence Stroll is throwing lots of $$$ at this program, then be aggressive and get a top driver lineup, heck try to bring in Max and Antonelli and really mess with Mercedes and Toto.

dude why are you ranting for 5 pages about bringing a top driver to the team? they havent come close to completing a race this season. who tf is going to possibly waste 2 or 3 years of their racing career to go to aston right now? are you serious, or are you just trolling? it seems a bit like you arent completely in touch with reality haha

[Honda Porsche fan]

However, Newey expressed full faith in Honda’s ability to resolve the issues, citing their proven track record. The chassis, despite a delayed development cycle, is believed to have tremendous upgrade potential, possibly making Aston Martin competitive mid-field or higher once the PU is stable.

Just waiting on the Honda engine.

[zoroastar]

Are there any Aston Martin and Honda fans here? Or, only Alonso loyalists?

What did Alonso do with a Mercedes engine in 2024 and 2025 ? Oh, that's the chassis' fault ? Nothing is Alonso's fault.

Alonso has been replaced by Crawford for FP1, if Alonso is so important to the team then why not replace Stroll with Crawford ?

This was a possible political decision as well, this is Honda's home race and they're not interested in Alonso possibly flipping out over the radio i.e. "GP2!!! GP2!!!"

You don't replace your supposed top driver with a rookie. This is AM's way I believe of shaking things up and looking for a new driver lineup for 2027. Again, I personally hope it's Max Verstappen and Jack Crawford or, if Jack doesn't show promise then go after Liam Lawson, Arvid Linblad, Gabriel Bortoleto or Oliver Bearman.

Lawrence Stroll is throwing lots of $$$ at this program, then be aggressive and get a top driver lineup, heck try to bring in Max and Antonelli and really mess with Mercedes and Toto.

dude why are you ranting for 5 pages about bringing a top driver to the team? they havent come close to completing a race this season. who tf is going to possibly waste 2 or 3 years of their racing career to go to aston right now? are you serious, or are you just trolling? it seems a bit like you arent completely in touch with reality haha

$$$ talks.

This idea that F1 drivers are these loyalists to teams, HA! they're not. These F1 teams treat these drivers like race horses and most drivers are not in any position to make demands. Max and Lewis are the only two drivers in F1 with any real leverage in their contracts. Both Mercedes drivers have no leverage and are under the gun with performance clauses. Toto can drop them when he wants.

lol @ any driver not taking the money. 99% of professional athletes take the money and leave championship winning teams in every sport all the time. F1, NBA, NFL, MLB, Soccer.

All drivers for 2026 who are not contractually locked down for 2027 are available.

Lawrence Stroll throws $$$ at any of them and he'll have them racing for his team.

the "top drivers" are gonna make money anyway. what they wont do is make that money in a team where they are being lapped every race. when honda bring a motor that can compete, then maybe these "top drivers" you speak of will come knocking. barring a miracle that aint gonna happen before the end of this season.

[CHT]

Are there any Aston Martin and Honda fans here? Or, only Alonso loyalists?

What did Alonso do with a Mercedes engine in 2024 and 2025 ? Oh, that's the chassis' fault ? Nothing is Alonso's fault.

Alonso has been replaced by Crawford for FP1, if Alonso is so important to the team then why not replace Stroll with Crawford ?

This was a possible political decision as well, this is Honda's home race and they're not interested in Alonso possibly flipping out over the radio i.e. "GP2!!! GP2!!!"

You don't replace your supposed top driver with a rookie. This is AM's way I believe of shaking things up and looking for a new driver lineup for 2027. Again, I personally hope it's Max Verstappen and Jack Crawford or, if Jack doesn't show promise then go after Liam Lawson, Arvid Linblad, Gabriel Bortoleto or Oliver Bearman.

Lawrence Stroll is throwing lots of $$$ at this program, then be aggressive and get a top driver lineup, heck try to bring in Max and Antonelli and really mess with Mercedes and Toto.

dude why are you ranting for 5 pages about bringing a top driver to the team? they havent come close to completing a race this season. who tf is going to possibly waste 2 or 3 years of their racing career to go to aston right now? are you serious, or are you just trolling? it seems a bit like you arent completely in touch with reality haha

$$$ talks.

This idea that F1 drivers are these loyalists to teams, HA! they're not. These F1 teams treat these drivers like race horses and most drivers are not in any position to make demands. Max and Lewis are the only two drivers in F1 with any real leverage in their contracts. Both Mercedes drivers have no leverage and are under the gun with performance clauses. Toto can drop them when he wants.

F1 is professional sports. 99% of professional athletes take the money and leave championship winning teams in every sport all the time. F1, NBA, NFL, MLB, Soccer.

All drivers for 2026 who are not contractually locked down for 2027 are available.

Lawrence Stroll throws big $$$ at any of them and let's see what they choose.

AMR is financial situation is not good, heavily in debt with high borrowing cost and high overheads.
Losing AM as sponsor, and poor performance this season may lead to smaller sponsor and prize money, will eat into their revenue.

AMR can only use $$ to engage ex-WDC like Alonso or drivers who have already past their prime.
For young drivers, they would prefer to earn while enjoying racing at the front, and winning, not fighting vibration.

Toyota F1 team is a good example of how throwing money doesnt guarantee success

[Leon Kennedy]

dude why are you ranting for 5 pages about bringing a top driver to the team? they havent come close to completing a race this season. who tf is going to possibly waste 2 or 3 years of their racing career to go to aston right now? are you serious, or are you just trolling? it seems a bit like you arent completely in touch with reality haha

$$$ talks.

This idea that F1 drivers are these loyalists to teams, HA! they're not. These F1 teams treat these drivers like race horses and most drivers are not in any position to make demands. Max and Lewis are the only two drivers in F1 with any real leverage in their contracts. Both Mercedes drivers have no leverage and are under the gun with performance clauses. Toto can drop them when he wants.

F1 is professional sports. 99% of professional athletes take the money and leave championship winning teams in every sport all the time. F1, NBA, NFL, MLB, Soccer.

All drivers for 2026 who are not contractually locked down for 2027 are available.

Lawrence Stroll throws big $$$ at any of them and let's see what they choose.

AMR is financial situation is not good, heavily in debt with high borrowing cost and high overheads.
Losing AM as sponsor, and poor performance this season may lead to smaller sponsor and prize money, will eat into their revenue.

AMR can only use $$ to engage ex-WDC like Alonso or drivers who have already past their prime.
For young drivers, they would prefer to earn while enjoying racing at the front, and winning, not fighting vibration.

Toyota F1 team is a good example of how throwing money doesnt guarantee success

In reality, AM was bought as a sponsor for an indefinite period, the risk is other sponsors.

This Jack Crawford decision to race him in FP1 might be a sign AM is phasing out Fernando Alonso and there might be a change to the driver lineup for 2027.

Max Verstappen and Jack Crawford at AM next season would be great.

I don't expect huge improvements in Japan for AM, just minor vibration improvements and focusing on reliability finishing the race. The big updates are coming around Miami/Canada with the B-spec engine.

But what would be great? Verstappen is already competing in a team that has been fighting for the top, is it possible that Alonso hasn't had a car to compete with for years? It would be great if Alonso could have one. Talent is talent and can't be bought.

[Honda Porsche fan]

I'm personally enjoying the rebuilding process and find it interesting how these engineers make improvements.

It takes time.

[Honda Porsche fan]

Honda’s Koji Watanabe confirmed they are working as one team and further measures are under consideration. Although power unit homologation occurred on March 1, reliability-driven changes are still permitted.

I think they can make this work out. I just hope it's not another 2015 - 2017 McLaren/Honda situation though.

[CHT]

I agree, throwing money at something does not guarantee success. Toyota threw a lot of money to Ralph Schumacher and he took it.

My point is, you offer any of these drivers big $$$ they'll take it 99% of the time just like any other athlete.


Aston Martin has billions invested from private investors...

Aston Martin F1 Team has attracted multiple investors through strategic minority stake sales, with key investors including:

Arctos Partners: A leading sports-focused private equity firm that invested in the team in late 2023, valuing the F1 team at approximately $1.2 billion. This was the first major external investment under Lawrence Stroll’s ownership.

HPS Investment Partners: A US-based firm managing around $115 billion in assets, which invested in the team in 2024, contributing to a valuation of £1.5 billion to £2 billion.

Accel: A prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, known for early investments in Facebook, that joined as an investor in 2024.

Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia: Acquired a minority stake of about 8% in the F1 team, reinforcing Gulf investment in elite sports assets.

Lawrence Stroll: The team’s owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, who maintains a significant stake in both the car company and the F1 team through his Yew Tree Consortium.

These investments reflect a broader trend of private equity and sovereign wealth funds entering Formula 1, driven by the financial stability provided by the cost cap and the sport’s growing commercial appeal.

AMR has got a very complex company structure, involving many inter companies transaction to boost it valuation
The operation side is profitable in 2024, but they are burden by very heavy and expensive debt, which led to losses of around $26m

This is taken from 2024 financial report. Why pay 10% for borrowing?

During the year the Group went through a refinancing exercise, resulting in the repayment of the
previous loan which has been replaced with a 10 year agreement to borrow $400m at a fixed rate of
10% interest. The facility has a fixed and floating charge over all current and future assets of AMR GP
Limited (and associated group companies) including a share charge in favour of the lender by all of the
group companies.


I also have reason to believe that this loan, likely from Saudi, have already priced in the potential for team success in 2026 with the new factory and Newey etc. This setback should not be taken lightly because this will mean lower revenue for the team.