When Aston Martin entered their Adrian Newey phase, the much-anticipated AMR26 was late to the Barcelona test party, with rumors swirling that it might be overweight. Weight is a killer in high-performance racing, where victories are measured in fractions of a second.

Aston Martin finally turned the wheel of the AMR26 on the last day of a private test in Barcelona. Unfinished and without livery, it was still clear that Adrian Newey had created yet another masterpiece. But, as any artist knows, creation comes with toil and endeavour.

Newey has pushed the limits of design and innovation in response to the new 2026 regulations, but the rear suspension setup may prove problematic. Aggressive aerodynamics, tightly packaged bodywork, and a new, untested suspension philosophy — all trademark Newey design and engineering — present significant challenges.

It will take time for Newey and the Aston Martin engineers to understand the nuances of setting up the AMR26, and I foresee a potentially problematic season. That could necessitate abandoning the rear floor and implementing a revised rear specification midseason.

Rolling The Dice, Pushing The Limits

I wouldn’t be surprised if Aston Martin is already planning upgrades across the season, which is standard practice in F1. But identifying flaws requires careful analysis of real-world data, not just simulations.

Despite having the most advanced computers of any era, simulations can’t fully replicate real-world performance. Aston Martin will need to work through numerous pain points to understand how the new car behaves. I could be wrong, but I predict the rear aerodynamics and mechanical engineering will cause the most head-scratching.

Newey has admitted as much, saying that he pushed the limits to deliver a car with development potential, rather than a design optimized to the point where further improvement is impossible. It’s a gamble, as Newey discussed during a recent media interview:

“The AMR26 that races in Melbourne is going to be very different to the one people saw at the Barcelona shakedown.”

“We’ve tried to do the opposite, which is why we’ve really focused on the fundamentals, put our effort into those, knowing that some of the appendages – wings, bodywork, things that can be changed in season – will hopefully have development potential.”

“We’ve attempted to build something that we hope will have quite a lot of development potential,” he explained.”

“What you want to try to avoid is a car that comes out quite optimised within its window but lacks a lot of development potential.”

“And the AMR26 that we finish the season with in Abu Dhabi is going to be very different to the one that we start the season with.”