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Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey was seen studying Ferrari’s SF-26 for an extended period of time before the Australian Grand Prix.
Aston Martin and Ferrari are at two completely different ends of the spectrum in F1 in 2026. The latter is fighting Mercedes at the front, while the former cannot complete a full race distance, as the Australian Grand Prix proved.
Newey said before the race that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll would not do more than 25 laps in Melbourne due to a severe vibration issue. Furthermore, Honda’s engines are desperately lacking power, which leaves the team struggling at the back.
How disappointed should Aston Martin be with their Australian Grand Prix performance?
Alonso and Stroll did not finish the race, although the latter was classified 15 laps down. Newey is now scrambling to find ways to improve their situation.
Martin Brundle thinks Aston Martin face a ‘six-month’ struggle as the only Honda-supplied team on the grid. It has left the team principal to try and find inspiration from their rivals.
Adrian Newey thinks there are ‘lessons to be learned’ from Ferrari’s SF-26
Ferrari caught everyone’s attention in pre-season with the SF-26 and the innovations they introduced. Many believed that they would take the fight to Mercedes, with their smaller turbo giving them an advantage in race starts.
Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Mercedes can do ‘nothing’ to match Ferrari’s starts as Charles Leclerc took the lead at the first corner from P4. But ultimately, Ferrari’s race strategy cost them as they did not pit under the VSCs and had to settle for third and fourth.
Nevertheless, the SF-26 has proved to be a strong package, and Newey wants to take some findings to Aston Martin. Journalist Julianne Cerasoli notes that the 66-year-old was studying the Ferrari for ’15 minutes’ before the Australian GP.
She said via her YouTube channel after the race: “And then something very surprising happened. Ferrari has a good car.
“Even Lando Norris was saying this weekend that they see McLaren in the telemetry data, that Ferrari is clearly the team that has the best car at the moment.
“Adrian Newey [on the] grid from the Australian Grand Prix, he spent a good 15 minutes stuck to the Ferrari car, noting everything about the Ferrari car. So he also thinks that there are many lessons to be learned from this car.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey
Are cracks starting to show in Aston Martin and Honda’s relationship?
Aston Martin used the Australian GP more like a test, which is not a situation that the team should be in at this stage, especially with the large investment Lawrence Stroll has made.
The issue is that things do not look likely to improve anytime soon. Alonso says finishing in China is ‘optimistic’ thinking, which sets up a bleak start to the 2026 season.
Have Aston Martin already ‘completely ruined’ their relationship with Honda?
Honda president Koji Watanabe says the relationship with Aston Martin cannot stay the same after the start of the season. The Japanese manufacturer are determined to fix the team’s issues as the year progresses.
But it is clear that the partnership is already fractured as Aston Martin look miles off the pace and have no real signs of that improving. A painful 2026 season may await the Silverstone outfit.
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