Why Aston Martin's 2026 Formula 1 Car Has Been Missing From Friday Testing
The Aston Martin AMR26 has been absent from the track on Fridays during pre-season testing in Bahrain, raising questions about its performance and reliability.
The British racing team, known for its luxury sports cars, has been struggling with technical issues since switching to Honda power units for the 2026 season. While the car's pace has been mediocre, its unreliability has been the most significant concern at the Sakhir circuit.
On Wednesday, the Adrian Newey-designed AMR26 spent four hours in the garage due to a power unit problem. When Lance Stroll finally got the team's afternoon program underway, he spun into the gravel trap, suggesting a technical fault rather than a driver error.
The following day, Fernando Alonso encountered another power unit problem, disrupting his afternoon session. As of Friday at 1 pm local time, the Aston Martin has yet to return to the track, partly due to a parts shortage, as revealed by Honda and team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa.
Honda stated on social media, "Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin F1 team. Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura."
De la Rosa confirmed Honda's diagnosis and Aston Martin's subsequent backup plan, stating, "Yesterday we had some battery issues on Fernando's car, and therefore Honda is carrying out test simulations in the test bench in Sakura. Due to this fact, and also the fact that we have a shortage of parts, we will be doing very limited runs today."
This setback compounds Aston Martin's issues, as the AMR26's testing benchmark is 1.4 seconds slower than anyone else, except for the new Cadillac team. De la Rosa admitted, "We are not where we wanted to be. We have been the team with the least laps during pre-season testing."
Despite the challenges, De la Rosa remains optimistic, stating, "We have great partners and a fantastic campus. People are working flat out to get us to the best possible compromise for Australia."
What do you think? Is Aston Martin's struggle a result of their new partnership with Honda, or are there other factors at play? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
