Aston Martin officially unveils its first Adrian Newey-designed Formula 1 car today, as the team bids to turn years of ambitious investment into genuine championship contention under the series’ radically overhauled 2026 regulations.
The AMR26 represents a watershed moment for the Silverstone-based outfit, marking not only Newey’s first design since joining as team principal and tech chief last March, but also the culmination of a major infrastructure overhaul that has transformed Lawrence Stroll’s operation into a fully-fledged works manufacturer in partnership with Honda.
Yet the path to this moment has been anything but straightforward. A seventh-place finish in last year’s constructors’ championship – a drop of two positions from the previous two campaigns – underscored a difficult 2025 season in which Aston Martin failed to secure a single podium.
The team made the decision to halt development on last year’s car early, gambling on redirecting resources towards the new regulatory era.
That bet began to take physical form at last week’s Barcelona shakedown, where the AMR26 finally broke cover during the final two days of testing. Lance Stroll took the wheel first on Thursday, completing a handful of installation laps, before Fernando Alonso logged over 60 laps on Friday as the team focused on initial systems checks and reliability work.
The design immediately turned heads in the paddock, with its distinctive nose, sidepod and engine cover configurations marking it out as notably different from rival interpretations of the new technical rulebook.
Now, ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain this week, the team will reveal the car’s race livery and provide deeper insight into Newey’s design philosophy at tonight’s launch event at the AMR Technology Campus.
For Alonso and Stroll – entering their fourth season as team-mates – 2026 represents a crucial opportunity to validate the team’s long-term vision, with the two-time world champion seeking to add to his illustrious career tally at the age of 44.
Aston Martin 2026 F1 car livery reveal
Aston Martin’s season launch takes place at 7pm UK time on Monday evening from Ithra, a World Centre of Culture in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
The event will be streamed live across multiple platforms, including Youtube, with an extended cut available on Aston Martin’s official TikTok channel.
Sky Sports F1 will broadcast the launch in the UK, while other global broadcasters will also carry coverage.
The team has promised “a season launch like no other”, featuring a keynote from Newey, technical insights from partners Aramco, Honda and Valvoline, music from The World of Hans Zimmer performed by Jodok Vuille, and words from actor Kaya Scodelario, before the reveal of the AMR26’s race livery.
Aston Martin shakedown and testing schedule
The AMR26 made its track debut during the final two days of last week’s Barcelona shakedown, with the team managing just 65 laps across Thursday and Friday after production delays left it four months behind rivals in development time.
Attention now turns to Bahrain, where the first official three-day pre-season test runs from 11-13 February, followed by a second three-day session on 18-20 February.
All 11 teams will be present, with sessions running from 7am-4pm UK time each day.
Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 car
The AMR26 marks a watershed moment for Aston Martin, representing not only Adrian Newey’s first design for the team but also the beginning of a works partnership with Honda that fundamentally transforms the Silverstone outfit’s competitive potential.
