2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[diffuser]

Too many problems to be magically solved all at once with the B-spec car.

Not necessarily. Technically the Mercedces car for the first race was as good as it was on the first try. With the biggest defects fixed and the engine power closer to the rest much can happen...
Or they can mess up everything again and stay last.

They postponed the b spec to late in august or september, Alonso said "more 5 races", De la Rosa said " nothing in this car until after summer break"

honestly, the situation is more dramatic and terrible than aany people expected, i think, even the spec-b for car and engine i think they'll just improve for fight with Cadillac and nothing more. They are so much late.

They probably need to wait for the new Honda PU. If it's true that they need to re-design the whole mounting system it's no surprise, might be incompatible with the launch chassis. Which would mean either both new PU and chassis or nothing.

That's already been addressed in the Japanese translations we read a while back. I'm sure it's already incorporated into the AMR26B.

Right now, it seems we're waiting to find out when the ADUO upgrades will be permitted. Some have suggested that the upgrades are going to take time to develop, which I hope is the result of a bad translation.

I would have expected Honda to be working on combustion improvements ever since the ICE design was finalized in January. My hope is that they meant Honda is already working on the upgrades and that, once they get the go-ahead, they'll freeze the design and incorporate the performance upgrades into the new ICE.

I assume the FIA will provide enough lead time for manufacturers to build and test the updated components. If Honda hasn't been working on performance upgrades since at least January, and Ferrari releases an upgraded ICE as soon as the FIA allows it while Honda goes through another cycle of delay, delay, delay, the situation at AMR F1 could become even worse than it is now.

[mzso]

Do people really still think that with the best engine, AM can compete in the midfield?
Unfortunately, the reality is very different, and the Monaco debacle was the final nail in the coffin for this project.
As mentioned above, engine, chassis, suspension, energy recovery, and gearbox. How do you solve all of that?
Trying to blame everything on Honda is just hate. The whole team is guilty, and I mean EVERYONE.

In Monaco the drivers refused to shift to first gear for better recover because of engine drive-ability, and when Stroll relented he immediately crashed.
So it's not like in Monaco the engine wasn't a factor in the poor results.

If Honda hasn't been working on performance upgrades since atleast January and Ferrari releases a ICE as soon as the FIA allows it... while Honda goes into delay delay delay. That will be even worse than it is now.

That would be ridiculous. And quite frankly idiotic. There's nothing but the cost cap limiting them on developing. Granting the ADUO would just increase the cost cap and allow them to deploy.

[diffuser]

If Honda hasn't been working on performance upgrades since atleast January and Ferrari releases a ICE as soon as the FIA allows it... while Honda goes into delay delay delay. That will be even worse than it is now.

That would be ridiculous. And quite frankly idiotic. There's nothing but the cost cap limiting them on developing. Granting the ADUO would just increase the cost cap and allow them to deploy.
[/quote]

Agreed, which is why I presumed it was a translation issue.

[etusch]

In Monaco the drivers refused to shift to first gear for better recover because of engine drive-ability, and when Stroll relented he immediately crashed.
So it's not like in Monaco the engine wasn't a factor in the poor results.

I don't think, no one here is trying to say that the engine has no effect at all. But we sometimes get involved in the futile task of trying to explain to those who are unwilling to understand that the engine isn't the only problem.

However, how much of a good engine feel can you get with a poorly functioning transmission? That's something to consider. If the transmission isn't working as expected, how can engine mapping solve the problem? Perhaps there are areas where those working on the chassis side are struggling because of the engine, but the same applies to the engine side as well. If the transmission and rear grip/df aren't helping you to achieve the rear braking you need to regenaration, wouldn't you experience this as a lack of maximum power from electric motor side? So maybe some of 70 hp power gap comes from low performance of the car.

[NAPI10]

Based on this article, aerodynamic upgrades are slated for Belgium and new engine upgrade are at Dutch GP -

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10861 ... -timeline/

[OnEcRiTiCaL]

Based on this article, aerodynamic upgrades are slated for Belgium and new engine upgrade are at Dutch GP -

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10861 ... -timeline/

And the gearbox?

[ispano6]

• You see the 110 points difference between Merc and McLaren? It's all because Merc is the "de facto works team". So that is the reason why you'd want to set up a works partnership.

• If you asking why Honda? well they were the only one on the outside looking in for a team.

• It is nolonger true that AMR F1 have no idea of what is going on at Honda. They have a team lead by Andy Cowell working out of Honda R&D in Japan. This was probably the biggest mistake made by AMR F1, not having anybody at Honda R&D till it was too late. Presume that Andy Cowell preferred to play team principle than make sure their future PU would be ready

• Either the Koji Watanabe (President Honda/HRC) or Shintaro Orihara (Honda's Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer) said in March that they brought over some of their most experienced guys from MotoGP to help bolster the ICE team.

• I think they both share blame in that Honda should be more responsible and AMR F1 cause of poor management. Is it possible that that to struggle is not seen as bad in Japanese culture if in the end you come out on top?

Honda wasn't on the outside looking in for a team. They were on the way out, and hence broke up the team to a support structure.

Lawrence Stroll convinced Honda to come back and be their works partner. It's only after it was decided they would partner AMR that they assembled a team to develop the next PU, which automatically put them behind other manufacturers by several months if not a year and adding to that the new fuel and lubricant suppliers to work with. Veterans like Asaki retired and didn't return.

For AMR and Stroll, being a works team was top priority.
He saw the success Honda helped bring RBR as their works team. So I would argue that Stroll has been the right leader all along, and that expectations from unrealistic fans of a budding works team to beat F1 stalwarts in their first season was only hoping for a BrawnGP miracle.

People here need to turn off the blame game and appreciate that other engine/fuel suppliers did it slightly although measurably better, likely in part thanks to their continuity in technical partners.

[diffuser]

Honda wasn't on the outside looking in for a team. They were on the way out, and hence broke up the team to a support structure.

Nope, If you look at the time line. Honda had signed back in with the FIA (the PU works group) more than a year before the signed with ANYBODY. In fact they were in discussions with another team before Aston Martin.

There was no blame game in my post.

Lawrence Stroll convinced Honda to come back and be their works partner. It's only after it was decided they would partner AMR that they assembled a team to develop the next PU, which automatically put them behind other manufacturers by several months if not a year and adding to that the new fuel and lubricant suppliers to work with. Veterans like Asaki retired and didn't return.

For AMR and Stroll, being a works team was top priority.
He saw the success Honda helped bring RBR as their works team. So I would argue that Stroll has been the right leader all along, and that expectations from unrealistic fans of a budding works team to beat F1 stalwarts in their first season was only hoping for a BrawnGP miracle.

People here need to turn off the blame game and appreciate that other engine/fuel suppliers did it slightly although measurably better, likely in part thanks to their continuity in technical partners.