Aston Martin is facing a difficult start to the 2026 Formula 1 season after poor performance and reliability problems in pre-season testing left the team struggling to understand and improve its new car.
The AMR26, the first car designed under famed engineer Adrian Newey, arrived late and completed far fewer laps than rivals, meaning Aston Martin has had much less track time to work on pace and setup.
When the car did appear on track it was noticeably slow and unstable, partly because the new Honda power unit is underperforming in energy recovery compared with competitors.
Drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll also reported issues with the new in-house gearbox and poor harmony between engine and gearbox systems, making development even harder.
Aston Martin began serious work on the 2026 car later than most teams, and with key technical staff changes during development, the package is not yet fully understood.
Because progress depends on more running and data that they haven’t been able to get yet, the team faces an uphill battle to catch up with rivals in time for the start of the season.
Much now rests on how quickly Honda can improve its power unit, and whether Aston Martin can find the understanding and performance it needs to compete.