Aston Martin F1 staff are experiencing a ‘funeral’ atmosphere at Bahrain testing

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Martin staff are feeling ‘down in the dumps’ after a miserable start to 2026 F1 pre-season testing, according to Spanish commentator Antonio Lobato.

There were warning signs for Adrian Newey’s Aston Martin project when the car arrived late for the Barcelona Shakedown. The AMR26 only logged meaningful mileage on the fifth and final day.

Then, in Bahrain last week, Aston Martin completed just 203 laps – 67 fewer than any other team. It wasn’t as if the car looked promising when it was on track either; Lance Stroll claims they are currently lacking four seconds of performance.

How worried are you about Aston Martin after Lance Stroll’s BRUTAL comments?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

With three more days of testing to come before the season opener in Australia, the consensus is that Aston Martin are one of the two slowest teams on the grid.

‘Everyone is down in the dumps’ at Aston Martin

As Lobato explained on El Partidazo de COPE, Aston Martin were braced for a difficult winter. Newey has already said the team were four months behind with their 2026 car development owing to his late arrival from Red Bull.

But they didn’t expect the situation to be this bleak, which is why it has been difficult to process. The problems with Aston’s chassis have been compounded by Honda’s malfunctioning engine.

Somewhat embarrassingly for the Japanese manufacturer, newcomers Audi have already supplanted them in the engine pecking order. Data shows that Honda are costing Aston Martin 1.5 seconds relative to the top teams.

Prove us wrong: Fernando Alonso’s faith in Adrian Newey is misguided this season after testing woes

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

“Right now, Aston Martin is experiencing a real funeral,” Lobato said. “Everyone is down in the dumps because the blow has been so hard.

“They knew things were going to go badly. After the first week of testing, Aston Martin is currently between second-to-last and last.

“If we take the team out of the equation and talk about engines, we know there are four engine manufacturers, and the Honda engine is the worst, even worse than Audi’s.

“I think there is room for improvement because it can’t get any worse; they just haven’t been able to get it running. It’s that simple.

“The Japanese have been caught off guard. They have reliability issues, performance issues, excessive vibrations, and problems with the gearbox, which is too abrupt when you have to brake.”

Adrian Newey’s Aston Martin speech hasn’t worked

Morale is particularly low within Fernando Alonso’s camp. This could be the 44-year-old’s final year in the sport, and he hoped to have a race-winning car.

But now Alonso’s circle are braced for a year of ‘suffering’. It increasingly looks as if his 32nd victory at the 2013 Spanish GP will be his last.

According to Ted Kravitz, Newey tried to rally Aston Martin with a positive speech in the Sakhir paddock. Based on Lobato’s comments, it hasn’t worked.

If there are clear signs of progress in the next three days – and ‘it can’t get anywhere worse’ – that atmosphere may improve before Melbourne.