Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Adrian Newey believes Aston Martin still has the potential to become a front-running team during the 2026 Formula 1 season despite a difficult start at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Silverstone-based team arrived in Melbourne with limited preparation following a challenging pre-season period. Its reduced track mileage was largely caused by severe vibrations from the power unit supplied by Honda, an issue that has even raised concerns over the physical impact on the drivers.
Honda has stated that it is working to implement fixes as quickly as possible, but Newey indicated that the engine is not the only limitation currently affecting Aston Martin’s performance.
According to the team boss, the car’s chassis performance may still be significantly behind the leading teams in its current specification.
“On the chassis side, it’s well known that we faced a very condensed development period,” Newey told media including RacingNews365.
“We didn’t get a model into the wind tunnel until mid-April, so we were quite a long way behind our competitors. That’s simply a fact of life.”
Newey explained that Aston Martin focused its early development efforts on establishing a strong architectural foundation for the car.
“What we tried to concentrate on was having a good, sound architectural package. By that I mean the parts of the car that we cannot easily change during the season.”
“We achieved that. When I look at our package now, I don’t feel that we have particularly missed anything fundamental.”
Despite the difficulties Aston Martin is expected to face in Melbourne, Newey remains optimistic about the team’s long-term development prospects.
The British engineer revealed that Aston Martin has already prepared an aggressive upgrade programme aimed at improving the car’s competitiveness over the coming races.
“I believe the car has huge development potential.”
“It will take a few races for us to fully realise that potential because we have quite an aggressive development plan underway.”
Newey also acknowledged that Aston Martin currently sits behind several of its main rivals in terms of outright performance.
“It’s fair to say that here in Melbourne we are a bit behind the leaders.”
“I would say we’re probably the fifth-best team at the moment, potentially capable of reaching Q3 on chassis performance alone.”
However, Newey stressed that such a position is not where Aston Martin intends to remain throughout the season.
“Obviously it’s not where we want to be.”
“But the car has the potential to move towards the front at some point during the season.”
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