Bernie Collins declares Aston Martin the ‘slowest’ car in testing despite interesting rake solution

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Former strategist and pundit Bernie Collins has suggested that Aston Martin have the ‘slowest’ car in pre-season testing after watching trackside in Bahrain.

It’s been another underwhelming day for Aston Martin during F1 testing, with technical issues and a red flag halting their progress.

Fernando Alonso was in the AMR26 in the morning, but only managed 28 laps due to a suspected power unit issue.

Honda have been plagued with problems throughout testing, and Lance Stroll didn’t fare much better in the afternoon session.

The Canadian brought out a red flag after getting beached in the gravel on the exit of turn 11.

Bernie Collins was studying each of the cars while trackside, and concluded that while Aston Martin’s car might currently be the ‘slowest’ out there, Adrian Newey’s design choices are certainly catching the eye.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 car the ‘slowest’ during Bahrain testing despite Adrian Newey’s rake solution

Collins was covering the test for Sky Sports F1 (18/2 12:54 pm), the former strategist was standing on the inside of turn five.

Reviewing the cars as they came past, Collins said: “You’ve got the McLaren here coming through slowly.

“The Racing Bulls here is very put together, it’s very stable through that corner every lap that I’ve seen him [Liam Lawson] come through.

“The car that’s looked the slowest, so far, I would say, is actually the Aston Martin.

“But one thing we noticed through this part of the track in particular is how much rake the Aston Martin car has.

“It’s very down at the front compared to the rear. I think Ferrari is coming now. This car looks very strong through this section as well.

“Hamilton is able to really lean on that left corner in particular before braking into the right. That looks very strong.

“Aston Martin, that’s the first time we’ve seen them come through here, pushing properly on that car. That looks much, much stronger than the laps previously they had done, where they were going particularly slowly through the section.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey

Aston Martin mechanics ‘despondent’ during Bahrain testing

There were high hopes for Aston Martin going into this season after barely touching their 2025 car last year.

However, Newey has admitted the 2026 car was late going into the wind tunnel, and Honda’s struggles have compounded any issues with the initial design.

Reporting on testing for ESPN, journalist Nate Saunders spotted some fairly glum faces in the Aston Martin garage.

He said: “Lance Stroll cut a fairly lonely figure walking down the paddock earlier. The faces at Aston were glum this morning when I saw them – this evening, they look even sadder.

“Saw a couple of mechanics looking fairly despondent outside the garage. One with hands on hips, and a lot of shaking of the head from the other.”

If Alonso or Stroll could somehow drag this car into the points in Australia, they would be doing a huge amount to change the mood within the team.