F1 2026: Fernando Alonso claims Aston Martin tweaks could slash HUGE time deficit

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 2026, Social — Photo: © IMAGO

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Fernando Alonso claims Aston Martin tweaks could slash HUGE F1 time deficit

Aston Martin had a poor week of testing in Bahrain

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Monday 16 February 2026 10:55 Updated: 12:33

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Fernando Alonso has claimed Aston Martin can still come good before the first race of the 2026 Formula 1 season, despite the team's lacklustre appearances in testing.

Aston Martin finished the three day session in Bahrain last week as the slowest team, with Lance Stroll speculating that the outfit were around 4.5 seconds off the pace of the fastest cars.

The team had already been on the back foot before arriving at the Sakhir Circuit, having turned up late to the shakedown in Barcelona and managing only a few miles compared to the rest of the grid, with the exception of Williams who missed the shakedown altogether.

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RESULTS: Bahrain timesheets as Lewis Hamilton suffers late Ferrari blow

Fernando Alonso furious with poor Aston Martin

Alonso was reported to be furious with the situation, with Spanish media claiming that the two-time F1 champion threw his gloves down in frustration during the testing session, with the AMR26 proving difficult to handle as well as being seemingly low on power compared to their rivals. Aston Martin have started a new engine partnership with Honda - who have returned to the sport.

Alonso believes that with the team still having a huge amount to learn from the car, finding time to improve and make chunks into eroding their deficit before the start of the season is still a possibility.

The 44-year-old told media: “There are laps that we are eight tenths up and down by changing one setting,” he explained.

“So it’s not that we need to find two tenths. When we optimise, maybe we unlock seconds.

“So let’s hope next week we have a better picture. As I said, we are realistic. We will not be the fastest in Melbourne. We started on the slow side and on the back foot, but difficult to guess exactly where.”

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

The first race of the season is in Melbourne on Sunday March 8 for the Australian Grand Prix. Lights out are at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

Meanwhile, the second week of Bahrain testing gets under way on Wednesday February 18 and then continues on Thursday February 19 and Friday February 20.

Each day is split into two sessions with a one-hour lunch break between. Times are as follows:

Session One: 10am-2pm local time (7am-11am UK, 8am-noon CET, 2am-6am Eastern).

Session Two: 3pm-7pm local time (noon-4pm UK, 1pm-5pm CET, 7am-11am Eastern).

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso