Intrigue mounts around Aston Martin\u2019s Formula 1 project, and it\u2019s only a matter of days before we start to gather some answers.<\/p>\n
The team held its season launch on Monday at Ithra, a cultural center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This year not only marks Aston Martin\u2019s first as a works team, but the AMR26 is the first Adrian Newey-designed car for Aston Martin.<\/p>\n
The car\u2019s origins\u00a0were similar to those of others in his legendary portfolio, which\u00a0includes Red Bull\u2019s dominant RB19<\/a>: a drawing board and a pencil-on-paper approach at\u00a0the Silverstone facility. Newey is known as one of F1\u2019s most successful car designers and spent 19 seasons at Red Bull before joining Aston Martin last year. But Newey is more than just the team\u2019s managing technical partner, now. Following a management reshuffle announced late last year, he officially became the team principal this year.<\/p>\n \u201c2026 is a rare moment in Formula One because, for the first time, the chassis and power unit regulations have changed together,\u201d Newey said in the news release. \u201cWith brand-new regulations, the best philosophy is never immediately obvious, and your understanding evolves as the car develops. With the AMR26 we\u2019ve taken a holistic approach: it\u2019s not about one standout component, but how the full package works together. The focus has been on strong fundamentals, development potential, and a car that Lance and Fernando can hopefully extract performance from consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n The AMR26 made its debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the shakedown week in late January. However, it arrived late in the week in an all-black livery and had limited running. Lance Stroll only completed a handful of laps on the Thursday of Barcelona Shakedown week, and Fernando Alonso completed 61 laps the following day. According to the team\u2019s news release from Barcelona, they were able \u201cto build an early baseline understanding of the car.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think the Aston Martin was probably the most standout in terms of the car design,\u201d George Russell recently said, ahead of Mercedes\u2019 2026 season launch. \u201cI think everybody was looking at that rear suspension, and it obviously visually looks very impressive. But it\u2019s not a competition of how sexy it is. It\u2019s a competition of how fast it goes around the track.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople always look towards the fastest car, and we\u2019ll find that out in Melbourne. Whoever that is, that will be the car that you wish to try and take inspiration from.\u201d<\/p>\n An evolution.<\/p>\n Refined for what comes next.<\/p>\n A closer look at our 2026 livery. pic.twitter.com\/Yvmisj4sKh<\/a><\/p>\n