Finding positive signs, even minor ones, has become an increasingly difficult exercise for Aston Martin Racing. After entering the 2026 Formula 1 season with high expectations following Lawrence Stroll’s heavy investment in recent years, the Silverstone-based team has endured a deeply disappointing start, finding itself battling near the back of the grid alongside newcomer Cadillac and the cars driven by Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
After the initial shock of such a difficult opening phase, Aston Martin has gone back to work, trying to extract every possible gain from the current package. However, one of the clearest explanations for the team’s struggles remains the lack of power and reliability from the Honda power unit.
The team now operating under Adrian Newey’s technical direction is therefore focusing on smaller areas of development, aiming to be ready when Honda becomes eligible to make use of the ADUO mechanism and potentially reduce the gap to Formula 1’s benchmark engine manufacturers.
Fernando Alonso offered a useful example of that incremental progress after the Canadian Grand Prix. Although the Spanish driver was forced to retire — yet another DNF in the first five races of the campaign — he was still able to identify meaningful gains linked to improved gearbox calibration.
“Every time we go out on track, we keep making progress. Every race weekend, we bring something new, whether it’s on the car, the engine, the setup, or the gearbox. From Miami to Canada, we improved the gearbox a lot, especially the gear synchronisation and the downshifts. It’s difficult to quantify exactly how much lap time that is worth. But we were definitely quicker in Canada than we were in Miami, even though we had exactly the same car. We simply fine-tuned some details. So I expect many more small improvements between Canada and Monaco, and hopefully another step forward.” – the former Ferrari driver pointed out.
That said, Aston Martin’s biggest issues still stem from its lack of outright power. Until the ADUO opportunity becomes available, the team will continue focusing on optimisation work, with several more months to prepare before any major reset becomes realistic.
The plan appears to be to make a more substantial leap after the summer break, with September seen as the moment when the team could potentially begin changing its competitive trajectory: “That doesn’t change the fact that the fundamental problem is still the three-second pace deficit. That gap will only be solved through more engine power and a stronger aerodynamic package. That means it can only happen in the second half of the year. We usually start well. Sometimes we find ourselves much higher up the order than we probably deserve to be. But then, lap by lap, we begin to drop back.”
“We lose one position at a time until we end up where our natural position currently is.”
“But in the end, this is the reality, and it will remain the same until the end of the summer. So we have to accept it, and we know we’ll keep answering the same questions every weekend. But we’re calm and relaxed about it.”
Fernando Alonso’s analytical outlook therefore highlights Aston Martin’s disciplined commitment to refining the structural mechanics of the AMR26 platform while facing a temporary power unit deficit. While the gearbox optimization work executed between Miami and Montreal delivered clear driveability benefits, surviving the high-stress calendar until Honda can deploy its post-summer upgrades remains a significant operational challenge. As the team transitions to the low-speed corners of Monaco, maximizing this newly refined gear synchronization will be essential for navigating the tight street barriers. If Adrian Newey’s engineering group can continually extract these micro-gains while the factory finalizes the upcoming aerodynamic packages, Aston Martin will possess a highly robust technical baseline ready to maximize their competitive surge in the latter half of the 2026 world championship campaign.
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