Even insiders are struggling to explain the scale of Aston Martin’s early-season collapse in 2026, and few are more surprised than Sergio Pérez. The Mexican, who now races for Cadillac, collaborated closely with Adrian Newey during their successful time at Red Bull, so he knows exactly what the legendary designer can deliver.
This is precisely why the current situation feels so baffling. Aston Martin, once tipped as a potential front-runner under Newey’s technical leadership, has instead become the slowest and least consistent team on the grid. After just a handful of races, the project already looks deeply troubled.
Pérez did not hide his disbelief when discussing the situation. “The truth is, I never expected this,” he admitted, reflecting on how dramatically the team has underperformed relative to expectations.
From Red Bull dominance to Aston Martin struggles
Pérez’s perspective carries weight. During his time at Red Bull Racing, Newey’s designs powered the team to multiple world titles, helping drivers like Max Verstappen dominate the sport. That era cemented Newey’s reputation as arguably the greatest technical mind in Formula 1 history.
Aston Martin’s leadership believed they were securing a transformative figure who could replicate that success. With Fernando Alonso still performing at an elite level late in his career, there was genuine optimism that the team could compete at the top level.
Instead, the opposite has happened. The AMR26 has proven to be uncompetitive on multiple circuits, lacking both pace and consistency. Reliability has also been a major concern, with the team only managing to get one car to the finish in the opening races.
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Honda engine blamed, but is that the full story?
Publicly, Aston Martin has blamed its power unit supplier, Honda, for the disappointing start. Compared to rivals, the engine appears to underperform, particularly against Mercedes-powered teams.
However, this explanation is increasingly being questioned within the paddock. While the engine deficit is real, it does not fully account for the team’s position at the back of the field.
Attention has begun to shift towards the chassis, the very area where Newey was expected to deliver a decisive advantage. This is where the situation becomes even more challenging for Aston Martin.
Growing doubts over the AMR26 chassis
Internally, there are now murmurs that the AMR26 may not be the breakthrough design initially believed; readers can follow this link to understand more about that from a previous article. Early simulations and wind tunnel data reportedly painted a far more optimistic picture than has materialised on the track.
This ties into a growing theory circulating in the paddock, namely that Newey may have significantly overestimated the competitiveness of his own concept. The car is difficult to balance and unpredictable in different track conditions, with no clear development direction.
For a designer known for precision and innovation, this raises serious questions. Was the concept too ambitious? Or did Aston Martin misinterpret the data during development?
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Newey’s “overestimation” and a project in crisis
Previous analysis has already raised concerns about a potential ‘overestimation’ of just how strong the AMR26 chassis really is. It is not suggested that Newey has suddenly lost his brilliance, but rather that even the best can misjudge a new regulatory cycle, especially one as complex as that of 2026.
The car’s weaknesses suggest that its theoretical performance ceiling simply does not translate into real-world results. Aerodynamic instability, tyre management issues and an apparent lack of correlation between simulation tools and track data all point to a deeper structural problem.
If this proves to be the case, Aston Martin will face a far bigger challenge than simply upgrading components. It would mean rethinking the car’s entire design philosophy, a process that could take an entire season, if not longer.
Pérez reflects on missed expectations
The situation is particularly disappointing, says the Mexican, because he genuinely believed in the project.
“I really believed in the project with Adrian Newey,” he said, emphasising how widespread that optimism was in the paddock.
He also highlighted the human side of the story. Many had expected Alonso to enjoy a late-career resurgence, fighting for wins rather than battling at the back. Instead, Aston Martin has become one of the biggest surprises of the season, for all the wrong reasons.
What next for Aston Martin?
With the season still in its early stages, there is time to recover, but the window of opportunity is already narrowing. Formula 1’s development race moves quickly, and falling behind now could have long-lasting consequences.
Aston Martin must urgently determine whether its issues stem primarily from the engine or the chassis, or from a combination of both. More importantly, the team needs to establish whether the AMR26 concept can be salvaged or if a more radical rethink is required.
NEXT ARTICLE – F1 veteran claims 2026 cars in breach of fundamental F1 regulation
The war in Iran may well hit the owners of Formula One in the pocket hard, but it’s an opportunistic moment for the sport’s regulators to regain control of a runaway beast they have helped to create. Ex-F1 racer and veteran commentator Martin Brundle claims that the current breed of F1 cars are in fact in breach of a fundamental tenet embedded in the FIA’s ow regulations.
F1 engine cycles tend to be 5-7 years in length and sometimes even shorter, however since 2014 the sport retained the basic architecture of the V6 hybrid turbo powertrains for some 12 long years.
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2026 F1 engines – 9 long years in the making
The 2014 V6 hybrids were initially expected to be replaced in 2020, but an FIA working party set up in 2017 to create the new PU regulations became mired in politics and at the mercy of the manufacturers.
Given that Red Bull Racing had almost found themselves in the dire situation where they had no engine supplier, the FIA was desperate to attract more manufacturers to ensure this situation could never arise again. But the lunatics took over the asylum.
Porsche, Audi, Mercedes and Honda were adamant the future of road cars would be hybrid and demanded that F1 reflected this trend to continue is association with road car relevant technology. Yet as the war in Iran has proven, electric is becoming increasingly popular with the highest sales of electric road cars in the UK since the middle east conflict exploded.
As the F1 teams began to simulate the all new engines with their 50/50 split in output between the internal combustion engine and the battery, deep concerns were raised about what Christian Horner described as “Frankenstein monsters.” He claimed the cars would run out of power on certain circuits with long straights and that the internal combustion engine would have to serve merely as a…CONTINUE READING THIS STORY
Clara Marlowe is a Formula 1 writer at TJ13 with over 15 years of experience in motorsport journalism, having contributed features to established sports magazines such as Evo, MCN, Wisden Cricket Monthly and other digital outlets.
Clara specialises in human-interest storytelling, focusing on the individuals behind the sport, including drivers, engineers, and team personnel whose roles are often overlooked in mainstream coverage.
At TJ13, Clara contributes long-form features and narrative-driven pieces that explore the personal and professional journeys within Formula 1. This includes coverage of career-defining moments, internal team dynamics, and the human impact of high-pressure competition.
Clara’s work brings depth and perspective to the sport, complementing news and analysis with stories that highlight the people behind the machinery.
Clara has a particular interest in how personal narratives intersect with performance, and how individual experiences shape outcomes across a Formula 1 season.
