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Aston Martin are having a rough start to the 2026 Formula 1 season as Adrian Newey’s team have fallen behind in development.
Being named team principal for 2026, a lot of expectation was placed on Newey’s shoulders, given his incredible expertise and success with Red Bull. With Honda on board, many believed he could take the team to the front, but that might have changed after pre-season testing.
Aston Martin were late to the Barcelona shakedown in January after suffering setbacks with development. By Newey’s admission, the team were on the back foot with the wind tunnel.
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Their issues have continued in Bahrain, with Lance Stroll sensationally saying that the team are as much as four seconds off the pace. Fernando Alonso was seen throwing his gloves off in frustration as he got out of the AMR26 in the garage.
Aston Martin are suffering cooling issues, similar to what Newey had with Red Bull with the regulation changes in 2014. Furthermore, Aston Martin’s Honda power unit is their ‘main weakness’, but that issue could have been solved had they gone to Barcelona earlier.
David Croft tells F1 fans to watch Adrian Newey ‘work his magic’ amid Aston Martin struggles
But F1 commentator David Croft backs Newey to solve Aston Martin’s issues and build them towards the front, as he discussed the team on Sky Sports F1 (12/2, 3:35 pm) during the second day of testing in Bahrain.
“He was, he admits it himself, four months late coming to the party to design this year’s car and they suffered a little bit, because the wind tunnel wasn’t online straight away, and they’re playing catch-up,” he said.
“So don’t expect Aston Martin to be out of the box, fastest car in Australia. That I think, is a hope that you can all have, but an unrealistic hope, given what the team are predicting for 2026. But in a development race for this season, watch this car throughout the year and watch Adrian Newey try and work his magic.
“So I think the car looks spectacular. I’m led to believe it’s a little bit heavy and the power unit is down on power. But once they fix a few bugs and get the weight down a bit, well, that’s when I think you’ll see Aston Martin come into form.”
Anthony Davidson then said: “Honda have done it before in the past and I’m sure they’ll do it again. It’s now, by all accounts, a brand-new team of people that have been working on that power unit.”
To which Croft added: “Well, they all got scattered to the wind, didn’t they, when they pulled out, before they then said: ‘Oh no, we’ll stay in it’, and actually, we’ve got no one left.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey
Anthony Davidson sees Fernando Alonso ‘really struggling’ with Aston Martin’s 2026 car in Bahrain
Alonso was far from pleased with his AMR26 in Bahrain, as Davidson noticed the Spaniard locking up the front constantly on track. He had a huge lock-up at the final corner towards the end of the session.
“Alonso’s really struggling here, isn’t he, Crofty, with the front end continuously locking up on this Aston Martin,” he said. The 44-year-old completed 98 laps on Thursday, but was almost four seconds off of Charles Leclerc at the front.
Bahrain testing day 2 belongs to Charles Leclerc
What was your main takeaway from today? 🤔
Alonso is already annoyed by the energy management in the 2026 car. The new regulations are the most extensive that the F1 veteran has ever seen in his career, and he is clearly struggling to adapt.
Aston Martin are on the back foot at this stage, but as Croft notes, if Newey and Honda can work out their issues and find a solution, they have the tools to be a success.
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