Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle says Aston Martin’s “horror show” at the start of the 2026 season is unlikely to be fully resolved any time soon.
The team has endured a nightmare start to a new era of F1 rules, despite signing design genius Adrian Newey and big promises to become Honda’s new engine partner.
With newcomer Cadillac always expected to finish last at the start of the season, Aston Martin has fallen short of points in each of the three race weekends this year, with Fernando Alonso’s 18th place finish last time out in Japan being the only time either car has completed a full Grand Prix so far.
Lance Stroll, who qualified on the last row at Suzuka, four seconds off the lead’s pace, quipped after the race that he and his Spanish team-mate were enjoying “our own Aston Martin Championship”, but his comments underlined the team’s current predicament and future efforts to get back on the grid.
“It hurts, really. It’s like salt in the wound,” Brundle said on the latest edition of The F1 Show podcast.
“This is a nightmare. No matter how you look at it, they have neither the speed nor the reliability. And in an era of unrelenting F1 championship calendars and cost caps, it will be very difficult to turn it around in time. And they have to figure out what to do first.”
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Despite the car’s obvious problems, Fernando Alonso is confident Aston Martin will solve them and improve.
“They have to get the right people at Honda and guide them in the right direction. The situation will not improve until 2027. This is a horror show and we will just have to watch the pain.”
“Of course they’ll improve to some extent, but they’ll be three or four seconds a lap slower. So it’s like they’re in a different category than the front runners at the moment. So watch this space. But it’s going to take a while.”
Both Aston Martin and Honda said they were working hard to improve the package, with their immediate priorities ahead of their return to F1 at the Miami Grand Prix in early May: treating engine vibrations that are causing reliability issues and limiting drivers’ mileage early in the season.
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Adrian Newey explains how vibration and battery issues are affecting Aston Martin
Development of the AMR26 chassis is underway, and while further upgrade packages are added and the performance of the power unit is improved, which Newey is confident Newey is committed to, Honda will also have the opportunity for catch-up upgrades under the terms of the 2026 Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) regulations.
Speaking on the same podcast as Brundle, fellow Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft said: “In fairness it was amazing for them to finish the race[in Japan]but it’s a long-term project.”
“This is a long-term project to fix problems that weren’t recognized early enough, and I think people took their eye off the ball a little bit in all aspects of that project.
“I said Silverstone for the B-spec car, but Spa is more likely for the B-spec car. The power unit needs a lot of work and fine-tuning and will probably be back after the Christmas break.
“But until the chassis can accommodate the power unit and until the power unit doesn’t vibrate as much, they’re going to struggle all season.
“Will we see them score points? It’s not possible at the moment unless the other 12 cars retire. It was great for them to get to the finish, but as (chief trackside officer) Mike Clack said, it’s no cause for celebration.”
F1 will resume with the second sprint weekend of the season, the Miami Grand Prix, from May 1-3, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
