Aston Martin has found itself in a difficult position at the start of Formula 1’s new regulatory era. Powered by Honda, the British team has been the slowest outfit on average after the opening nine races, scoring just a single championship point thanks to the retirements of rivals. The AMR26 has struggled with both performance and reliability, while the team opted to freeze development during the first half of the season, partly because of cost cap constraints. As sporting director Mike Krack has already acknowledged, that decision has allowed rival teams to pull further ahead.
Fernando Alonso, whose long-term Formula 1 future remains uncertain, has also voiced his frustration over the lack of incremental upgrades and the development strategy adopted by the team.
Adrian Newey admits Aston Martin’s biggest mistake
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin’s team principal and technical director, spoke candidly about the team’s situation during a meeting at the Silverstone factory ahead of the British Grand Prix. He admitted it has been extremely frustrating for the drivers to compete knowing the car has not been capable of fighting at the front because of its current limitations.
Newey also acknowledged that the team may have made a significant mistake by not spending enough time listening to its drivers. He explained: “Perhaps we’ve been guilty of not spending enough time with Fernando, Lance and Jak Crawford to explain exactly what we’re trying to achieve with the upgrade package.”
He went on to say that he felt it was important to sit down with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to discuss the team’s plans in detail, explaining the development programme, the upcoming upgrade package and Aston Martin’s longer-term vision for the 2027 season. Newey insisted that the team has been listening carefully to driver feedback and acting on it, even if that has not always been visible from the outside.
“If people don’t feel they’re being listened to, they naturally become frustrated. That’s simply human nature,” Newey added. He stressed how important it is for the drivers to feel involved in the project, admitting that perhaps not enough time had been devoted to that aspect.
Aston Martin’s development strategy and the next steps
Newey also explained the reasoning behind Aston Martin’s decision not to develop the car during the first half of the season. From the opening races, it became clear that the AMR26 would not be competitive enough, partly because the 2026 project had been completed under an extremely compressed timeframe, leaving the team behind on its development curve.
“So we made the painful, but I believe correct, decision not to carry out any development during the first half of the year, knowing that while everyone else continued developing their cars, the gap to the front would inevitably increase,” he explained. The objective was to reorganise the team, build stronger development systems for the future and gain a deeper understanding of the car’s underlying problems.
The first upgrade package is scheduled to arrive at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, followed by a second step at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. The package will include a substantial aerodynamic overhaul together with a significant weight reduction, as the current car is estimated to be between 10 and 15 kilograms overweight.
At the same time, Honda will introduce its only power unit upgrade of the 2026 season at Zandvoort. Newey described these updates as medium-term objectives that have effectively become short-term priorities, while also outlining longer-term decisions that will strengthen the organisation over the winter in preparation for the 2027 campaign.
Newey concluded by thanking everyone for their patience and understanding, acknowledging that this has been a painful period for the team, its partners and everyone involved. He expressed hope that these difficult months will soon become nothing more than a distant memory, allowing Aston Martin to look towards the remainder of the season—and beyond—with far greater optimism.
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