Newey's first Aston Martin: The F1 car that must justify everything

Aston Martin‘s 2026 Formula 1 season comes with more pressure than any in the team’s modern history.

After years of significant investment, a new state-of-the-art factory, and the recruitment of Formula 1’s most successful designer, 2026 is the moment Lawrence Stroll’s project must finally deliver on its championship ambitions.

The year didn’t have the dream start the team wished for, however, as the AMR26 didn’t appear at Barcelona until Thursday, with Aston Martin opting to use only the final two days of the five-day shakedown.

Seven teams began testing on Monday, with Ferrari and McLaren joining on Tuesday. Aston Martin’s late start means at best two days of crucial early mileage to understand an entirely new technical formula.

Although there was no official explanation for the delay, it raises questions about preparedness ahead of the most radical regulation change F1 has seen since the hybrid era began in 2014.

This is supposed to be Aston Martin’s moment.

The 2026 rules reset has been circled on Stroll’s calendar since he acquired the team, the target date for when investment, infrastructure, and personnel would coalesce into championship contention.

Newey’s dual challenge

Adrian Newey’s arrival has carried the weight of expectation few, or no, technical appointments can match.

The design guru has contributed to 14 drivers’ championships and 12 constructors’ titles across Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull. His record speaks for itself: when Newey designs a car under new regulations, that car tends to win.

But Newey now holds dual responsibilities that could dilute the very expertise Aston Martin paid handsomely to secure.

In November, the team announced he would become team principal from 2026 while maintaining his managing technical partner role. It marks the first time in Newey’s career that he will lead an F1 team operationally while simultaneously overseeing technical development.

The restructure came about pragmatically rather than strategically. Andy Cowell, who replaced Mike Krack as team principal in January 2025, recognised that his powertrain expertise would be better deployed managing the Honda integration alongside partnerships with Aramco and Valvoline.

That left the team principal role vacant, and Newey agreed to fill it given he would be attending races anyway.

Newey has insisted he remains determined not to dilute his focus on car design and development, describing it as “what gets me out of bed in the morning”.

The question is whether those assurances match reality when managing race weekend operations competes with the creative thinking that has defined his career.

Newey has never run a team before, never managed the political dynamics of the paddock from the team principal’s chair, and never balanced the demands of weekend operations with the deep technical work that produces championship-winning cars.

If the AMR26 struggles conceptually, Aston Martin will face uncomfortable questions about whether asking Newey to do two jobs undermined his ability to do either properly.

But if it succeeds, the dual role becomes a masterstroke that maximises his influence.

Whether the delayed Barcelona start means the project already faces challenges that could complicate either outcome remains to be seen.

Honda’s return and works team status

Honda’s partnership represents the team’s first works engine deal since rejoining Formula 1 as Aston Martin in 2021.

The Japanese manufacturer ended its Red Bull relationship to focus on the new technical regulations, developing the RA626H power unit through HRC with an emphasis on the 50/50 electric-combustion split that defines the 2026 formula.

The works team advantage should theoretically provide Aston Martin what Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull-Ford will enjoy: complete integration between chassis and power unit from conception. No more designing around an engine received as a customer; instead, simultaneous development that optimises packaging, cooling, and performance as a unified package.

However, Honda’s route back to Formula 1 has been complicated.

The manufacturer announced its withdrawal in 2020, formally left as an active constructor at the end of 2021, then maintained engines for Red Bull through 2025 while developing the 2026 unit. That stop-start approach potentially cost development time compared to manufacturers who committed early and sustained focus.

The Japanese manufacturer is reportedly among those upset with Mercedes’ interpretation of compression ratio regulations for 2026, suggesting tensions already exist within the power unit community.

If Honda arrives at a competitive disadvantage to Mercedes or Red Bull through regulatory interpretation rather than pure performance, Aston Martin’s championship ambitions face immediate complications regardless of chassis quality.

Cowell’s move to chief strategy officer specifically targets this challenge. His experience leading Mercedes High Performance Powertrains through its dominant 2014-2020 run provides exactly the expertise needed to optimise Honda integration.

Whether that expertise can be applied retroactively to solve early issues only time will tell.

The driver question

Fernando Alonso enters his 23rd Formula 1 season having spent three years waiting for competitive machinery that has failed to materialise.

The 44-year-old two-time champion joined Aston Martin for 2023 expecting the team’s upward trajectory to continue. Instead, he watched it stall, then reverse, with 2025 delivering Aston Martin’s worst constructors’ championship result since becoming Aston Martin.

Alonso has hinted that 2026 represents a make-or-break season for his continued involvement, not only with the team but also with F1.

If the car provides genuine championship potential, he may extend his career. If it disappoints, retirement becomes the likely outcome. That places added pressure on Newey and the technical team to deliver immediately rather than evolve the package over multiple seasons.

The Spaniard’s experience and technical feedback remain invaluable, particularly when developing an entirely new car concept. His ability to extract performance from difficult machinery has been proven repeatedly across his career.

But age and motivation inevitably influence performance, and Alonso cannot compensate indefinitely for an uncompetitive car through driving excellence alone, and right now the Spaniard looks like Aston’s only chance if it comes up with a championship-worthy car.

2026 will be Lance Stroll‘s 10th Formula 1 season and his eighth with Aston Martin, but his career remains defined by inconsistency.

Moments of genuine quality contrast with periods where he struggled to even get out of Q3.

His 2025 season saw him outqualified by Alonso every single weekend, a disparity that raises questions about his ability to challenge for victories even in competitive machinery.

Championship expectations versus reality

Lawrence Stroll’s stated ambition is clear: Aston Martin exists to win world championships. The investment, infrastructure, and personnel recruitment all serve that singular goal.

Anything less than regular podiums in 2026 would represent failure relative to expectations set by the team owner himself.

However, this is Formula 1, and scepticism is always warranted.

Toyota spent hundreds of millions across eight seasons and never won a race. Honda’s own recent history includes a disastrous McLaren partnership before finding success with Red Bull.

Money and ambition guarantee nothing, and execution under entirely new rules remains one of F1’s hardest challenges.

Aston faces that challenge with a first-time team principal juggling dual responsibilities, a new works engine partnership managing new rules, and drivers whose combined age exceeds 70 years.