Why is Aston Martin's 2026 F1 car not green?

Aston Martin have headed out onto the track for the first time properly this week at the F1 private shakedown in Barcelona, but their car is black!

The Silverstone-based outfit have only been present in Barcelona in the latter part of the week, and Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have had limited time in the first Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin car.

2026 sees wholesale regulation changes sweeping into the sport, and that has led F1 and the FIA to offer teams a maximum of nine full days of testing should they want them.

But the AMR26 went out for its first laps of pre-season testing on Thursday, and fans were shocked to see a black livery rather than the iconic racing green that we have come to associate with the Silverstone team.

Not to worry, however, this is only a temporary livery, designed just for the private shakedown in Barcelona, with Aston Martin yet to have done their official 2026 car launch event.

The team will not unveil their full colours for 2026 until February 9, and so this all-black design is simply just for use at the Barcelona shakedown.

McLaren have opted for a similar approach, with this private test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, bringing a brief interruption to F1's livery launch season.

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Why did Aston Martin miss testing?

Aston Martin have only really utilised one of the three days of testing that were available to teams in Barcelona.

They revealed last week that they would not be turning up to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya until Thursday, with their car not quite ready, but Thursday saw them sat in their garage for a long time.

Stroll did get a few laps in during the final hour, but it was Friday when we really saw them out on track for the first time, with Alonso getting his first laps in the AMR26 in.

The delays were reportedly down to Newey wanting to wait until the last minute in terms of his design ideas, and F1 legend Martin Brundle recently stated he was 'not surprised' by Newey's late show.

They will, however, be taking part in the Bahrain tests next month, with two three-day events at the Bahrain International Circuit before the season gets underway in March.

What is a shakedown?

A shakedown refers to the first time teams can properly run their cars on track, like a pre-season health check.

Teams get the chance to test out all of the new design features on their new cars without limitations, with no maximum limit put on the number of laps they are allowed to do each day.

The private shakedown means the press do not have access, and only a small crew are admitted to film content for teams and drivers.

Nevertheless, Sky Sports will be on hand to guide viewers through the Barcelona shakedown, with a testing highlights show broadcast at 9pm (GMT) every night of the week of the test on the Sky F1 channel. The show will then be available on Sky F1's official YouTube channel.

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