Spanish F1 commentator Antonio Lobato believes Aston Martin had higher expectations for Adrian Newey’s first car design.
The last time he made a switch was nearly 20 years ago. Back then, the buzz felt pretty similar too. Over that span, he helped shape eight title-winning cars out of Milton Keynes.
But things haven’t started well for Newey in his new role as team principal. Aston Martin’s 2026 campaign is already off to a rocky start, with Lance Stroll estimating the AMR26 is currently four seconds off the pace.
Even though there have been ongoing issues with the Honda power unit, Newey can’t put all the blame on them.
Aston Martin even had to make urgent changes to its chassis in Bahrain after some of Newey’s aggressive design decisions didn’t work out. And according to those watching trackside, no car has looked more difficult to drive than theirs so far this year.
Aston Martin underwhelmed by Adrian Newey’s early work
DAZN’s Antonio Lobato, speaking on El Partidazo de COPE, said that Aston Martin expected a more functional offering from Newey.
According to Lobato, Newey has maintained a positive outlook despite the team’s struggles and even delivered an encouraging speech to staff in Bahrain. He believes the issues can be addressed before the opening race in Australia.
“Adrian Newey’s chassis has left them a little disappointed because they expected it to work and it is not working as well as they wanted it to, that is true,” he said. “But the Honda engine is more of an issue.”
“Adrian Newey has said he knows where the problem lies and the wind tunnel will start working to solve this problem, and in Australia this will not be an issue.”
Honda reliability woes hit Aston Martin pre-season testing
Lobato pointed out that Newey has left the engine problems for other staff to handle, while he focuses on aerodynamics. But even if the design comes together, Honda’s reliability issues could remain a major hurdle.
The Aston Martin AMR26 isn’t just slow, it’s also overweight. And that’s before considering reliability – something the team is struggling with early on.
“The engine is between five and ten kilos overweight, and the problem they’ve had here in Bahrain is that they can’t run,” Lobato added. “They wanted to run and test aerodynamic things and Honda engine maps, but they can’t do it because they have hydraulic fluid leaks and ERS failures.”
“So every few minutes they have to stop, and it’s a disaster.”
Given his investment in both Newey and Honda, Lawrence Stroll has every reason to be frustrated by how things have started. And while Mercedes are dealing with their own fuel compression issues, Aston Martin may already be second-guessing their decision to switch away from them.
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