Aston Martin encountered a significant setback in developing its 2026 Formula 1 car, the AMR26, due to a four-month delay in starting wind tunnel testing. Adrian Newey, the team's managing technical partner, revealed that the program began in mid-April 2025, later than rivals who commenced in January. This compression affected preparations for the recent Barcelona shakedown.
Aston Martin's preparations for the 2026 Formula 1 season hit a snag with a delayed wind tunnel program for the AMR26 car. Formula 1 regulations prohibited aero testing for 2026 machinery before January 1, 2025, to manage costs during the major overhaul. However, while competitors began immediately, Aston Martin waited until mid-April 2025 to introduce a car model into its CoreWeave Wind Tunnel, which became fully operational around that time. The team announced the tunnel's readiness on March 13, 2025, but Newey, who joined on March 1, 2025, as managing technical partner, noted the lag.
"The reality is that we didn’t get a model of the '26 car into the wind tunnel until mid-April, whereas most, if not all of our rivals would have had a model in the wind tunnel from the moment the 2026 aero testing ban ended at the beginning of January last year," Newey explained. "That put us on the back foot by about four months, which has meant a very, very compressed research and design cycle."
This delay contributed to a rushed assembly, with the AMR26 requiring transport from the team's Silverstone factory—via Birmingham and Girona airports—to the Barcelona shakedown last week. During the five-day event, where teams could run for three days, Aston managed only a handful of laps on Thursday evening and one full day on Friday.
The 2026 rules mark a historic simultaneous change in power unit and chassis regulations, posing unique challenges. Newey emphasized a holistic design approach, focusing on flow fields, tight packaging, and innovative features like revamped front wing, sidepods, and rear treatment. "2026 is probably the first time in the history of F1 that the power unit regulations and chassis regulations have changed at the same time," he said. "It's a completely new set of rules, which is a big challenge for all the teams, but perhaps more so for us."
Despite the hurdles, Newey urged an open mind, predicting significant evolution. "The AMR26 that races in Melbourne is going to be very different to the one people saw at the Barcelona shakedown," he added. Partners like Aramco for sustainable fuels and Honda for the power unit are key to ongoing development, aiming for a drivable car for drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
The compressed timeline of 10 months has been intense, but Newey views it as an opportunity for high development potential, avoiding early optimization pitfalls.
