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Aston Martin Holds Fire on Fixes, Plans Post-Summer Upgrade with Newey Leading Recovery

The team is delaying piecemeal changes to roll out a single package designed to fix engine, energy, chassis, gearbox faults and arrest a slide down the 2026 grid.

Overview

  • Fernando Alonso scored Aston Martin’s first point of 2026 in Monaco on Tuesday after post-race penalties promoted him to 10th, but he said the weekend offered "zero positives" for the AMR26.
  • The squad has identified separate faults at different races: power shortfall in Australia, energy-system weakness in China, chassis problems in Monaco, and gearbox failures in Canada and Miami.
  • Adrian Newey has been working on track with the drivers to gather feedback and steer the diagnosis of the car as the team prepares a single, large upgrade package to be introduced after the summer break.
  • Team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa reported that key reliability niggles such as vibration issues and a driver seat fit have been resolved, though other problems remain and results may stay poor for several races.
  • Aston Martin arrived late to winter testing and ran a new in-house gearbox this year after years of using Mercedes units, a background that helps explain why management chose a consolidated midseason upgrade rather than piecemeal fixes.