Aston Martin's new AMR26 car, designed by Adrian Newey, finally hit the track on the fourth day of the 2026 Formula 1 pre-season shakedown at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Lance Stroll completed a handful of slow laps before a precautionary stop triggered a red flag. The radical design has already drawn attention despite the team's delayed arrival.
The Barcelona shakedown, a private five-day test where each team gets three days of running, began earlier in the week behind closed doors with no independent media access. Aston Martin, based in Silverstone, skipped the first three days due to delays in preparing their challenger, the AMR26, which arrived at the circuit on Wednesday evening. The team finally rolled out the car around 5pm local time on Thursday, allowing just over an hour of running before the session ended at 6pm.
Lance Stroll took to the track first, managing four to five slow laps in the all-black camouflage-liveried machine. His fastest time was reported as 1m46.404s, about 30 seconds off Mercedes' benchmark from earlier sessions. Stroll stopped at the pitlane entry shortly before the chequered flag, prompting a red flag that halted proceedings; the team described the stop as precautionary. "It was a long day for all the mechanics and everyone in the team pushing flat out to get the car ready," Stroll said. "We got a few laps in at the end of the day and it was feeling good. We have to learn the car and understand its strengths and weaknesses."
The AMR26 marks several milestones for Aston Martin: it is the first car fully designed under Adrian Newey's leadership since he joined in March 2025, and the team's debut as Honda's factory outfit with a new power unit. Newey's influence is evident in the extreme, aggressive design, featuring a wide, duck-bill-like nose, ultra-slim and undercut sidepods with periscope-style inlets, a high letterbox air intake, and pushrod suspension with elevated wishbone pick-up points. Technical observers noted its 'zero sidepod' concept and double-floor approach, potentially reducing drag under the new 2026 regulations for chassis, engines, tyres, and fuels.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack reflected on the challenges: "We are in a bit of a unique situation. We welcome Honda, our new power unit partner... you pair that with new chassis regulations, new power unit regulations... it's a huge change for us as a team... Then we have Adrian [Newey] on board, so it's all very exciting and a lot of change." Despite the limited running, Krack emphasized pride in making the test: "Formula 1 is not waiting for you, so you have to be ready. We were now a little bit late, but we made it to this test."
Fernando Alonso is scheduled to drive the AMR26 on Friday, the final day. Honda, previously partnered with Red Bull, has yet to gather data on its power unit. Meanwhile, other teams like Mercedes completed extensive laps without major issues, setting positive benchmarks. The shakedown focuses on reliability rather than outright pace, with further tests in Bahrain ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.