Aston Martin went into F1’s major regulation changes in 2026 as the team most confident of breaking into F1’s established elite, having endured a disastrous pre-season that saw its short-to-medium term goals clearly in tatters.
Since Lawrence Stroll bought the team then known as Force India in 2018, the Canadian billionaire has spared no expense in establishing a new F1 superpower.
Following the team’s rebranding as Aston Martin in 2021, a state-of-the-art facility was built and opened at Silverstone in 2023, followed by the team’s own wind tunnel becoming available for use in March 2025.
Some of the sport’s brightest minds have also been acquired to use the facilities, with legendary designer Adrian Newey set to take over in 2025, following former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell joining the previous year.
The team has also secured exclusive engine supply from Honda, which led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to four successive titles between 2021 and 2024, and would have remained with the Milton Keynes team had he not announced his intention to retire before making the U-turn.
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Sky Sports’ Craig Slater and Nigel Chiu assess the F1 hierarchy after the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
With two-time world champion Fernando Alonso still driving at a high level alongside owner’s son Lance Stroll, all the ingredients appeared to be in place for Aston Martin to win the reset rules ahead of this season, win races and eventually threaten the title.
Instead, at the last of three pre-season test events in Bahrain last week, it looked like they would go into the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from March 6-8, at the back of the grid, but what went wrong?
power unit pain
At the heart of Aston Martin’s woes appears to be the capabilities of the Honda power unit they were happy to secure exclusive use of.
There will be a very worrying sense of déjà vu, especially for Alonso. Considering that in 2015, when the Spaniard was driving for McLaren, a new deal to receive Honda engines ended in disaster.
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On the second day of testing in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin stopped on track, resulting in a red flag.
McLaren ended the partnership after three years after finishing ninth, sixth and ninth in the constructors’ championship, leaving Alonso disillusioned and taking a two-year break from the sport.
There are several factors that appear to have contributed to Honda’s power unit’s disastrous start.
First, Honda only kept the bones of its F1 division in place from late 2021 amid plans to exit the sport, and did not rebuild its full workforce again until a deal with Aston Martin was agreed in early 2023.
Not only did this mean that the team fell behind the four other engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and Audi – who were already hard at work developing their 2026 power units, but it also meant that the staff who had been developing Verstappen’s title-winning engine were wiped out.
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Check out the highlights from day 3 of the 2nd Bahrain Pre-season Test.
Furthermore, there is the double-edged sword of an exclusive contract with Honda. That means a lack of track time during the preseason could be far more detrimental than a team with a power unit used by multiple teams.
For example, although Williams was unable to take part in the Barcelona shakedown in late January, it was able to benefit from data provided by engine supplier Mercedes, which also counts McLaren and Alpine as customers.
New way adjustment period?
History suggests that Honda may have faced some problems regardless of who was in charge at Aston Martin, but it’s fair to question whether Mr Newey’s approach potentially made the problems worse this time around.
Newey is an F1 legend, having designed cars that won 12 constructors’ titles and 13 drivers’ titles, but he has a different role at Aston Martin.
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Adrian Newey has admitted Aston Martin’s wind tunnel testing delays could cost the team in the early stages of the 2026 season.
After leaving Red Bull, Newey initially joined Aston Martin as managing technical partner in March 2025, but it was later announced in November that he would also take on the role of team principal.
His first design for Aston Martin attracted immediate attention upon its belated arrival in Barcelona, but there are whispers that elements of it may have posed further challenges for Honda.
Moreover, Newey is known for delaying the design and development process for as long as possible, so the vehicle only hit the track on the penultimate evening of the five-day event in Barcelona.
It didn’t change everything, but being prepared earlier in the test would have given Honda more time to address and work through the inevitable issues it would face.
But in Newey’s defense, his mindset was all about winning, and he would no doubt have been shocked and disappointed if he discovered an engine that couldn’t currently support his design efficiently.
How quickly can they recover?
There is little doubt that Aston Martin’s low mileage in Bahrain, especially when it barely left the garage on the final day of pre-season testing, will set off alarm bells for Honda.
The question now is how long it will take to catch up with other power unit manufacturers, but the development of new versions of the product has certainly already begun.
The hope is to resolve the underlying issues that limit track time during pre-season and provide a new and improved version as soon as possible.
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Lance Stroll spins out during a lockup and goes off course, bringing out a red flag!
It’s difficult to predict how long this process will take, but the severity of the problems uncovered would suggest that they won’t necessarily be resolved quickly.
Even as the improved engines begin operating, significant learning will also be required on how to best manage energy deployment, as other manufacturers have already collected vast amounts of data on this critical performance element.
Considering Honda failed to solve its problems for three years during that dreadful McLaren partnership 10 years ago, having a competitive engine ready to go at the start of next season would be a great achievement from this point on.
What are the possible consequences?
F1’s ‘big four’ will remain in a league of their own for the time being. The teams considered most likely to challenge have already stumbled, but McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari all appear to be doing a solid job with the new regulations.
Aston Martin itself has offered little so far. When it became clear how bad their situation was in the final stages of the second Bahrain Test, the media were denied access to the two players they most wanted to hear from, Newey and Alonso.
Both have heard from Melbourne and are sure to put on a brave face, but how long that lasts may depend on the speed of their progress.
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Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins and Craig Slater give their thoughts on why Aston Martin arrived late to the Barcelona shakedown in January.
Alonso hasn’t won a race since 2013 but is waiting for the chance to compete at the top again and just weeks ago said he would like to continue running in 2027 if he is provided with a car capable of challenging for the title.
Events in recent weeks have made that unlikely, and frustration at the prospect of making up the numbers at the back of the field may lead Alonso, who turns 45 in July, to decide enough is enough.
Lawrence Stroll is not known for his patience and is unlikely to be able to handle potentially embarrassing situations well.
It remains to be seen whether he feels the need for further personnel changes, or whether he believes getting Aston Martin to the top is an impossible mission and is looking to cash in on the sport’s boom.
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