Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Aston Martin’s 2026 car has finally made an appearance out on track at F1’s Barcelona shakedown, and Adrian Newey’s ‘super aggressive’ design choice has caught the eye of many.
After it was announced that Williams would be missing F1’s inaugural week of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Aston Martin also emerged as a contender to miss out on the valuable testing session.
Luckily, Adrian Newey and co arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday evening, having experienced certain development delays in the run-up to the AMR26’s maiden voyage.
Despite having only one day left of the week to clock in some laps, it may have been borderline disastrous if the British constructor weren’t able to get the new challenger ready in time due to them being the only team on the grid to house Honda engines.
Unlike Williams, who will be benefiting from the data Mercedes and the rest of their customer teams gathered in Montmelo, Aston Martin would have had no idea whether the Honda power unit was reliable enough heading into the first week of official testing in February.
The AMR26 has finally arrived in Barcelona! Is it too late to benefit from this test, though? 😬
What are your thoughts on Adrian Newey's first Aston Martin F1 car? 🤔
Adrian Newey has taken a ‘super aggressive’ stance on his first Aston Martin F1 car
The AMR26 was finally sighted with just under one hour left of running today, much to the delight of a crowd of F1 fanatics who sought refuge on a nearby hill to catch a glimpse of Newey’s first Aston Martin F1 car challenger.
F1 journalist Jon Noble gave his thoughts on the new Silverstone-based team’s new chassis on social media, highlighting the ‘super aggressive’ route that the design genius has taken in development.
He posted, “A first sighting of the Aston Martin AMR26 shows some super aggressive undercut sidepods and a very interesting engine cover – with a unique airbox arrangement. Adrian Newey has been working hard.”
Newey’s creation was arguably one of the most highly anticipated cars to make an appearance in Barcelona, given the prowess he has shown in the aerodynamics department throughout his illustrious career.
There are high hopes that the car may give Fernando Alonso at least one more shot at securing a third world title that has eluded him for so long in recent years.
- READ MORE: Adrian Newey has privately delivered his verdict on Aston Martin signing Charles Leclerc in 2027
What changes would you make to Ayao Komatsu’s ultimate F1 driver?
Fernando Alonso wants Aston Martin fans to ‘temper’ their expectations ahead of the AMR26’s debut
Upon Aston Martin’s arrival at the Catalan circuit, Alonso was spotted by journalists from Jugones, and was asked for his thoughts on the late appearance of his team at the test.
The two-time world champion said, “We’ll take a few laps today. I’m excited. Let’s see how it goes, but we need to temper expectations.”
As previously alluded to, there has been some discourse over the competitiveness of Honda’s power unit in recent weeks.
With Newey’s aerodynamic expertise likely being the strong suit of the AMR26, it seems like the engine may be the only thing that lets them down.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
