F1 Australian Grand Prix: Aston Martin may DNF DELIBERATELY as crisis deepens

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Aston Martin

Aston Martin may DNF DELIBERATELY at Australian Grand Prix as F1 crisis deepens

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 2 March 2026 19:30

Aston Martin's F1 2026 problems are so bad that the team are already considering an early retirement from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, according to reports in Italian media.

The Silverstone-based outfit's new power unit partnership with Honda has not got off to the best of starts, with the team only able to complete the fewest laps of all the teams during pre-season testing amid breakdowns and reliability issues.

On top of this, the team's driver Lance Stroll said that Aston Martin were around four seconds off the pace of the top teams in Bahrain, hardly ideal for an outfit who were hoping to challenge for the world championship in 2026.

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Design legend Adrian Newey has designed the AMR26, and his car designs have claimed 26 championships across his illustrious career.

But it's looking highly unlikely that the AMR26 is going to add to that tally, and now a damning report from Motorsport.It has suggested that the team are struggling to even have the parts to take to the track for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

They report that the team have considered not showing up at all for this weekend's race, but that the fines that they would face for that as part of the Concorde Agreement means that this consideration was ruled out.

However, the above publication has said that they will do enough to get themselves there for Sunday's grand prix, but that they will only complete a few laps before retiring both of their cars to avoid any more issues with their power unit.

GPFans have contacted Aston Martin for comment.

What are Aston Martin's goals for 2026?

While the initial goal for owner Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin will have been to be in the hunt for the world championship in 2026, that goal will now have to be put off for at least another year.

Newey even admitted as early as December that they would not be challenging for the championship until at least 2027 or 2028.

That's not good news for two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who is 44 years of age and running out of time to claim a third world championship title in the sport.

The more positive news for Alonso and Aston Martin is that the competitive order at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix will likely look very different to the competitive order at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, due to the teams getting used to the new regulations at different rates.

At this stage, it's looking as though a repeat of last season's seventh-place constructors' championship finish would be a fine result for Aston Martin in 2026, with regular points scoring probably the best they can hope for.

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F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Australian Grand Prix Honda