The Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team is implementing a significant technical restructuring ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season, promoting key engineers in a bid to strengthen trackside performance. The move comes at a crucial time for the Silverstone-based squad, which is battling weight and reliability concerns with its new car.
According to The Race, the British outfit has carried out an important reshuffle of technical roles surrounding Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, aiming to optimise communication, data analysis and race execution under the new regulations.
New structure around Fernando Alonso
On Fernando Alonso’s side of the garage, Chris Cronin returns in the role of Senior Race Engineer and will work closely with Andrew Vizard. Vizard has been Fernando Alonso’s race engineer since 2023, after previously serving as a Performance Engineer at Williams between 2018 and 2022.
Chris Cronin brings extensive experience to the role. Having previously worked as race engineer for Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel, Cronin now steps into greater responsibility and will serve as Fernando Alonso’s primary radio contact during race weekends. The restructuring signals Aston Martin’s intent to maximise the Spaniard’s feedback and technical direction as development intensifies.
Changes on Lance Stroll’s side
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll’s engineering team also sees a key promotion. Gary Gannon has been elevated to Senior Race Engineer, adding over a decade of paddock experience to the Canadian driver’s side of the garage. Stephen Glass, who joined the team in 2019 when it was still known as Racing Point, will now take on the role of Lance Stroll’s race engineer.
Gary Gannon is a well-established figure in Formula 1. He began his F1 career in 2011 with Marussia and previously worked with Honda across IndyCar, CART and the American Le Mans Series. In 2015, he joined Haas, where he remained for a decade and became one of the most recognisable voices on the pit wall. During that period, he worked with drivers including Romain Grosjean, Mick Schumacher and Nico Hülkenberg. In 2025, he made the move to Aston Martin, and from this season onward he will play a central role in Lance Stroll’s trackside operations.
The challenges facing Aston Martin in 2026
This internal reorganisation comes at a delicate moment for Aston Martin. The team is effectively in a race against time to rediscover competitiveness after a difficult start to winter testing.
The debut of the new Aston Martin 2026 car exposed several weaknesses. The car completed very limited mileage during the Barcelona test, partly due to delays in assembly that left the team short on preparation time. The situation worsened during last week’s Bahrain test, where reliability concerns forced the team to run the power unit in a precautionary detuned mode to preserve engine components.
In addition to reliability setbacks, weight has emerged as a major issue. The green car — often nicknamed the “Verdona” in Italy — is currently the most overweight car on the grid. Reports indicate it is approximately 40 kilograms above the FIA’s minimum weight limit of 768kg, a significant deficit that inevitably compromises performance in lap time, tyre wear and overall balance.
Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s Chief Trackside Officer, acknowledged the scale of the challenge but remained cautiously optimistic. “We have a new car, a new package, new partners and we need to integrate everything. There is a lot of work to do and this week we learned that perhaps we are not at the level of the others. But I think the package has potential and we need to work hard to unlock it.”
With major regulation changes reshaping the competitive order in Formula 1 for 2026, Aston Martin’s technical reshuffle underlines the urgency within the organisation. The coming weeks will be critical as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll look to extract performance from a car that, while currently flawed, may still hold untapped potential.
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