F1 2026: Aston Martin down to just TWO batteries as fears grow over missing Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

Aston Martin down to just TWO batteries as fears grow over missing Australian Grand Prix

Adrian Newey hasn't been shy about how deep the F1 crisis runs at Aston Martin

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 6 March 2026 19:54

The Aston Martin F1 team have reached a new low as they are running out of both time and parts ahead of the first race of the 2026 championship - the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The F1 team led by design genius Adrian Newey have been at the heart of the headlines ahead of this weekend's race at Albert Park for all the wrong reasons as they continue to struggle with their new Honda power unit.

Newey's move to Aston Martin had been sold as the most exciting signing in the squad's short history, but since the British engineer made the switch from Red Bull, he has had to contend with endless disasters.

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After arriving to January's Barcelona shakedown late, the team put in the least amount of laps out of all the constructors who attended the event, something they then repeated during February's pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Worrying reports then emerged regarding just how far behind their rivals they were, with Honda releasing a grim statement that revealed the huge challenge they faced to fix their PU issues ahead of the season opener.

And things have only gotten worse now that the Australian GP weekend has arrived.

Newey admits Aston Martin in a 'scary place'

Speaking to media on Thursday ahead of the track action, Aston Martin team principal and managing technical partner Newey revealed there were genuine concerns that neither car would be able to complete a full-length grand prix.

The 67-year-old confirmed that vibrations from the Honda power unit had persisted and were in fact so bad that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both feared sustaining permanent nerve damage should they be subjected to it for an entire race distance.

Having been summoned to appear in his first FIA team principal press conference of the 2026 season, Newey was then asked on Friday how serious the risk is that Aston Martin could fail to qualify or race at all at this weekend's Australian GP.

"The critical point is the number of batteries," he revealed, detailing just how deep the problem could run for Lawrence Stroll's F1 team in Melbourne this weekend.

"We came here with four batteries. We’ve had conditioning problems or communication problems with two of those batteries, which means we’ve, as we sit here today, only got two operational batteries.

"That, given our kind of rate of battery damage, is quite a scary place to be in.

“Obviously, we’re hopeful that we can get through the weekend and start two cars and so on and so forth, but it’s very difficult to be concrete at the moment about that."

Asked if there was a chance his team could fly any replacement batteries in to Melbourne over the coming days, Newey responded with brutal honesty, saying: "Unfortunately not. There aren’t any."

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey 2026 regulations Australian Grand Prix Melbourne