F1 News: Aston Martin handed simple solution to 2026 woes: 'Get the f*** on with it' says legend

Adrian Newey scowling with a cup of coffee — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

Aston Martin handed simple solution to 2026 woes: 'Get the f*** on with it' says F1 legend

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 19 June 2026 18:55

F1 legend Rob Smedley has launched a brutally simple piece of advice to the Aston Martin team, telling them to 'get the f*** on' with sorting out their issues.

Aston Martin have had a disastrous start to the season, highlighted by the recent Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix where they qualified down in 21st and 22nd, before both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso had to retire from the race.

Overall, the team have claimed just one point from the opening seven grand prix weekends, and have struggled with both reliability and performance issues.

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Design legend Adrian Newey joined the team in March 2025 and now has the job of trying to turn their fortunes around, with both the power unit and chassis designs thought to be well below par.

On the power unit side of things, Aston Martin's power unit manufacturer Honda have been handed somewhat of a lifeline through the FIA's additional development and upgrade opportunities (ADUO) scheme, being handed two extra homologations.

But the chassis still appears to be a pretty weak one, with an F1 expert recently revealing that, even if Aston Martin had a Mercedes power unit, they would only be fighting around the likes of Haas because of the limits in their chassis design.

Aston Martin have signed the likes of Newey and Enrico Cardile in recent years, two huge names when it comes to chassis design, and now former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has warned them to get on with it and bring some big upgrades, suggesting that all they need to do is have honest meetings with one another.

Aston Martin's need to find answers soon

Jake Humphrey asked Smedley on the High Performance podcast if there was any way Aston Martin could turn their car into machinery capable of fighting for wins even next season.

Rob Smedley replied: "There is a big upgrade coming, isn't there? You’ve got to give them the benefit of the doubt. They've got some very clever people there.

"In Belgium, so pre-summer. We don't have to wait that long, so six weeks time. We will see and I think you can judge it on that. I mean, they have to make a step forward from where they are now.

"They started the season with a really slow car, with not the best power unit, they've got some very clever people there, they just have to work together and get themselves out the s***, it's as simple as that, right? That's what you do in Formula 1.

"And I think that's what everybody on the outside never, ever realises is that the team has to coalesce. You can't have people pointing fingers at each other.

"You've got to get in a meeting. You’ve got to get direction. You've got to disagree and commit in that meeting and just get the f** on with it, right? That's what they're all paid for. So, just go and get on with it and act like a team and stop blaming each other."

Former F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer then weighed in, saying: "They did say early on that they weren't going to bring little upgrades, a race here, a race there. Just like we talked about Ferrari's upgrade, Mercedes upgrade, Mercedes brought theirs to Canada, they're going to bring some more. They said, ‘No, no, no. We're not doing any of that.’ Probably to save their cost-cap money for one big B-spec car and let's see what happens in Spa. But from what I hear internally, it's going to be tough."

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey