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Adrian Newey’s first-ever Aston Martin F1 car finally broke cover on day four of the Barcelona Shakedown. The car only ran for a handful of laps before breaking down, but it was a momentous occasion nonetheless.
Aston Martin announced before the test had started that their arrival would be delayed, and the car only arrived at the circuit on Wednesday evening. It wasn’t until the closing stages of Thursday’s running that it emerged from the garage.
The delay only built the anticipation as fans waited to see Newey’s interpretation of the 2026 regulations. The 67-year-old is widely regarded as the greatest F1 designer of all time.
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? 🤔
Aston Martin aren’t holding their 2026 launch until 9 February, and so the car ran in an all-black placeholder livery rather than its now-trademark green.
Karun Chandhok immediately impressed by Aston Martin sidepods and rear suspension
Aston Martin published a black-and-white, partially obscured photo of their AMR26 on social media to mark their first laps.
In the eyes of F1 pundit Karun Chandhok, the car certainly lived up to the hype. Writing on X, Chandhok said, ‘Look at those sidepods!!’, accompanied by two mind-blown emojis.
Newey’s sidepods were described as ‘super aggressive’ by another observer, but that wasn’t the only detail to catch the eye.
Is this a brutal truth or unfair criticism from Lance Stroll?
In a follow-up post, Chandhok added: “Err…. That rear suspension is going to get other teams talking… and thinking!!”
One of the benefits of the earlier start to testing is that teams have more time to study, and potentially copy, their rivals’ cars before the first race in Melbourne on 8 March. While Newey’s Aston Martin merits particularly close scrutiny, the process will work both ways.
Newey may be impressed by the Red Bull, which had been considered the most innovative car on the grid up to this point.
Why did Lance Stroll cause a red flag in the Aston Martin?
Lance Stroll had the honour of debuting the new car but only managed four laps at a slow pace. The Canadian pulled over at the end of the pit lane as he tried to start another run, which meant the car could at least be wheeled back to the garage.
The stoppage brought out red flags that effectively ended the session.
Aston Martin haven’t revealed what the problem was – after all, the test is intended to be private – but they weren’t the only team who hit trouble on Thursday. McLaren, on their second day of running, were limited to just 48 laps by a fuel system issue.
Aston are likely to finish bottom of the Barcelona lap count, but they will at least be ahead of no-shows Williams. There are still two further tests to come in Bahrain.
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