F1 2026: Aston Martin is 'a real funeral' but Adrian Newey has the antidote

Adrian Newey, Aston Martin, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Aston Martin is 'a real funeral' but F1 insider says Adrian Newey has the antidote

Aston Martin had a chastening first week in Bahrain

Chris Deeley

Wednesday 18 February 2026 07:58 Updated: 08:38

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All is not well at Aston Martin.

After Williams took several attempts to pass the FIA's crash tests and declined to even turn up at Barcelona for a week of shakedown running, it looked like the mantle of preseason crisis team had been well and truly placed on the shoulders of the legendary British team.

Aston managed to snatch it from them within a day's running in Bahrain. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't encouraging, and their drivers seem deeply displeased with the package they're having to haul around the track in the island kingdom.

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Lance Stroll warned that the mixture of disappointing engine and some aerodynamic issues means that the team are currently some four seconds off the pace of the front-runners, with the season's first race in Melbourne less than a month away.

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Lobato: Newey's chassis a disappointment

Spanish F1 commentator and insider Antonio Lobato, who is typically well keyed into Fernando Alonso's moods, said after last week's first test: “At Aston Martin it feels like a real funeral. They’re last – second-to-last team.

”Newey’s chassis has left them a bit disappointed, but Newey already knows where the problem is - and in Australia it will be fixed.”

It's not entirely clear where Lobato's faith that Newey can turn around an apparent dud of a car in just weeks comes from, but it's worth noting that even if the former Red Bull man can work his magic and give the team a chassis commensurate with the best cars on the grid, it wouldn't be enough.

Reports and analysis from Bahrain Mk.1 suggest that Honda's underwhelming power unit looks to be costing the green machine a second and a half a lap. Not even Newey at his best could dig into his bag of tricks and fix that in under a month.

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey