F1 team engulfed in chaos facing ultimate Australian GP humiliation | F1 | Sport
Such is the severity of the issue, it’s being claimed their ambitious new engine might only be good enough to complete a limited number of laps in Australia. The first Grand Prix of the season takes place this weekend, with panic appearing to have set in at Aston Martin HQ.
That’s according to reports from the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, who suggest the team have not solved the issues relating to the power unit. They partnered up with Honda ahead of the 2026 season, but concerns around vibrations in the internal combustion engine have got the Aston Martin bigwigs sweating.
The issues meant that Aston Martin’s drivers – Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll – were limited to a reduced testing programme during the pre-season preparations. It leaves huge question marks over whether the power unit will be able to survive the hustle and bustle of a full Formula One race weekend.
It’s suggested in the report that Aston Martin had even considered skipping the first race of the season altogether. That idea was quickly shut down, with PR and commercial reasons cited as the reason why, but it goes to show the issues Aston Martin is facing.
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Instead, there are claims that the objective has shifted to qualifying for Sunday’s main race before trying to register as many laps as possible at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. It’s somewhat of a disaster for Aston Martin, who had plenty of eyes on them after securing Newey’s services following his departure from Red Bull.
Regardless, Aston Martin team representative, Pedro de la Rosa, has still been impressed by Newey’s work since arriving through the door. He told the official Formula One website: “I’m really impressed with Adrian. Listening to him, what a clear vision he has of what he wants from the car, and what we need to improve on the car, gives a very good guideline to everyone in the team to work in one direction. We might not be where we want to be, but we know exactly what to do.
“Adrian knows what’s missing, and he gives you a level of confidence that he knows where the lap time is coming from, and that he will get it. It’s difficult to describe. Definitely there’s an aura around him, but it doesn’t come from the fact that he’s won so many championships. It comes because that aura is already set into his body.”
