Aston martin’s disastrous start to the 2026 Formula 1 season has left both Cadillac and the British team as the backmarkers of the grid in the opening phase of the championship.
While struggles for Cadillac in its debut season were widely expected, the real shock has been the complete failure of the AMR26 project and the Aston martin–Honda partnership, which has underperformed far beyond expectations and even surprised Cadillac driver Sergio Pérez.
The backmarkers of the grid
The two teams currently at the bottom of the Formula 1 standings in the early stages of 2026 are Cadillac and Aston martin. For the American outfit, making its full debut in the sport, difficulties were anticipated, but Aston martin’s lack of competitiveness has come as a major surprise across the paddock.
The AMR26 project, developed with Honda power and significant technical investment, has not delivered the expected step forward, resulting in one of the biggest disappointments of the season so far.
This situation has left even experienced driver Sergio Pérez, now racing for Cadillac, visibly stunned by how far Aston martin has fallen off the competitive order.
The Mexican driver knows the Aston martin environment extremely well. He previously raced for the Silverstone-based squad when it operated under the names Force India and later Racing Point.
During his time at Red Bull, Pérez also worked closely with Honda as well as with legendary designer Adrian Newey, who was later brought into Aston martin on a high-profile deal and promoted to team principal role at the end of last year.
Despite all this shared history, something has clearly gone wrong within the project.
Checo surprised
“The truth is that I didn’t expect it. I thought Fernando (Alonso) would be fighting at the front,” Pérez admitted in an interview with DAZN. “I really believed in the project with Newey. I worked with Adrian at Red Bull and also with Honda. But these are the surprises that Formula 1 can give you, and right now we find ourselves fighting with Fernando.”
The Mexican also joked about his situation compared to Alonso’s, highlighting the friendship between the two while admitting he has asked the Spanish driver to “wait” for him in terms of performance progress.
“I always tell Fernando, jokingly, not to improve too quickly so we can enjoy the battle together and start the recovery together,” Pérez said with a smile.
However, the number 14 is unlikely to wait for his friend and rival. Alonso, who has shared intense battles with Pérez in the past — including their memorable fight at the 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix — is expected to push on aggressively as Aston martin attempts to recover form during the season.
Sergio Perez’s candid comments therefore underscore the baffling decline of a team that was once expected to be Mercedes’ primary challenger in the 2026 regulatory era. The synergy between Adrian Newey and Honda was touted as a championship-winning formula, yet the reality on track tells a story of reliability woes and aerodynamic inefficiency. While Perez finds a silver lining in racing alongside his friend Alonso at the tail end of the field, the lack of performance is a serious concern for the sport’s fans and stakeholders alike. For Fernando Alonso, patience is a finite resource, and the “dream project” at Aston Martin currently looks more like a nightmare. The upcoming development window will be the ultimate test of Newey’s leadership as he attempts to drag the team out of the cellar and back into the points-paying positions where the world believes they belong.
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