Fernando Alonso has no doubt that Aston Martin will “ultimately have the best car” in F1 with Adrian Newey on board, but he is prepared to be “underdog” in the first half of the 2026 season.
Aston Martin has publicly said after the first two tests for 2026 that it lacks the pace compared to the leading teams looking to challenge F1’s new age of car and engine rules.
Aston Martin completed the fewest laps and set the slowest time at last week’s first Bahrain test, when the new AMR26 completed just 65 laps after arriving late at the Barcelona test. They continue to learn about not only the first Newey design, but also the team’s first Honda engine and in-house gearbox.
Asked on Sky Sports F1 what the legendary Newey, who took over team principal duties this season in addition to his technical role when he joined last spring, Alonso said: “We have everything we need.
“He has experience. He’s had good times, he’s had tougher times, and I think we have a clear path to improvement.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch highlights from day 3 of the first Bahrain pre-season test.
“There are a lot of things that need to be resolved. To be honest, for us this is really the first test, because missing Barcelona was not ideal. So we are still going step by step to release our performance and we have identified some areas where we need to improve.”
“We said at the car launch that we’re going to move on from a bit of a tough weak start to a better second half of the season, and I still think that. The second half of the season is when we need to get to where we want to be.”
Before that, Newey has already promised that the car Aston Martin brings to the Australian Grand Prix, which starts from March 6 to 8, will be significantly changed from the model it ran in the first pre-season test.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Craig Slater and Ted Kravitz reflect on pre-season testing so far after the first week of driving in Bahrain.
“The cars in Melbourne will be very different,” Alonso declared. “I saw some photos and Adrian also said this at the recital.
“Not just in Melbourne, we have a guy who has spent over 30 years in F1 and conquered every sport, so in the end we’re going to have the best car. It’s only a matter of time, but we want to get it as soon as possible.”
Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll said that during the first Bahrain test, the Aston Martin was up to 4.5 seconds off the leading pace.
Alonso says the car, which completed just over 200 laps last week, is running well, but there are clear areas to focus on to find improvements.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch Aston Martin unveil the impressive new AMR26 for the 2026 season.
“I think everything is going well in that respect,” he added.
“Certainly we need to integrate the power unit and the gearbox a bit, which is a first for Aston Martin. But I think aerodynamics and engine performance will still dominate lap times, so that’s where we need to squeeze more performance out of it.”
“We don’t know exactly where we are yet. We’ll probably have a clearer picture next week, but at the moment our focus is on these two areas.”
Sky Sports F1 Bahrain test schedule
Test 2: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
6:50am – 11:05am: Morning Session Live 11:55am – 4:10pm: Afternoon Session Live 8:00pm: Test Lap
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, including the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
