The Aston Martin Formula 1 team will forgo at least one of its three allowed testing days at the 2026 Barcelona shakedown due to delays with its new AMR26 car. The team plans to run on Thursday and Friday, allowing drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll limited track time. This comes as other teams begin their preparations for the new season.
The Formula 1 pre-season shakedown test at Barcelona's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya runs for five days from Monday to Friday, serving as an initial check before official three-day tests in Bahrain in February. Teams can select any three days for running, but Aston Martin faces delays in preparing its 2026 challenger, the AMR26.
Aston Martin confirmed it will arrive later in the week but intends to test only on Thursday and Friday. "The AMR26 will be in Barcelona later this week for its shakedown. Our intention is to run Thursday and Friday," a team spokesperson told Autosport. This means the Silverstone-based outfit, owned by Lawrence Stroll, will complete just two days of running at most, missing out on the full allocation.
The AMR26 marks several milestones for Aston Martin: it is the first car overseen by managing technical partner Adrian Newey and developed using the team's new wind tunnel at its Silverstone base. Additionally, 2026 sees Aston Martin transition to Honda power units as an exclusive works team, aiming to boost competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Williams is the only team absent entirely due to its own delays with its 2026 car. McLaren and Ferrari skipped Monday and plan to start Tuesday, while the other seven teams, including Red Bull and Mercedes, began on the opening day under cool but dry conditions. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar topped the unofficial lunchtime timings ahead of Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
With no live timing available for afternoon sessions, the focus remains on accumulating mileage and integrating the new-for-2026 power units rather than outright performance gains.
