Aston Martin’s 2026 campaign got off to a rocky start in Bahrain this week, with engine partner, Honda, acknowledging that the AMR26 package is still “playing catch-up” after a limited first pre-season test.
However, despite the early setbacks, Honda insists the team has a clear path forward and is gathering valuable insights to improve performance.
Aston’s troubled AMR26 completed only 206 laps over three days in Bahrain, leaving fans and pundits questioning the readiness of the new car.
Early issues were linked to a combination of a data anomaly and concerns over engine overheating, potentially caused by Adrian Newey’s tight chassis packaging in his first design for the team.
The Foundations of a New Alliance
For Honda’s Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, Shintaro Orihara, the team’s early stumbles are simply the first steps of a long-distance marathon.
The focus remains on the immense technical shift of the 2026 regulations, which place a massive emphasis on how electrical energy is harvested and spent.
"Testing in Bahrain over the last three days was really beneficial for us and for our partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team as we ran 206 laps overall," Orihara stated, finding the silver lining in the data gathered.
"It was a good opportunity to learn a lot from the power unit package itself and its integration in the chassis. New regulations are a big change, not only for the way you drive the car, but also how you charge and deploy your energy over one lap.
“We worked on new ways of how to deal with energy management together with the team and drivers."
Pushing Through the 'Catch-Up' Phase
The reality of being at the bottom of the distance charts isn't lost on the Japanese manufacturer. Honda is no stranger to the pressures of Formula 1 development, and Orihara’s transparency about their current position is matched only by his confidence in the team's ability to recover.
The "catch-up" game has begun, but it is a race they are running with full intensity.
"Of course, we would have wanted to run more laps, but we have to remember this is our first official test together with the team, so we all had lots to learn from our new on-track collaboration," Orihara explained.
Acknowledging the road ahead, the Japanese engineer remained steadfast in the mission.
"It is certain that we have more work to do back at our F1 R&D centre in HRC Sakura and here at the track.
“We know where to improve together with the team, and, believe me, we are pushing! For sure, we are playing catch-up on the overall test programme, but we have just acquired a significant amount of data and key learnings from the last week."
With three more days of testing looming on the horizon, the focus shifts from survival to optimization.
The "honeymoon period" for this new partnership may have been a trial by fire, but as Orihara concluded: "Looking forward, we have three more days of testing next week, and we will be prepared to make the most out of it."
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