Aston Martin: Adrian Newey says late start 'bound to cost' team as AMR26 livery revealed in Saudi Arabia

Adrian Newey admitted Aston Martin's late start on their 2026 Formula 1 challenger is "bound to" impact the team's results in the early stages of the new season.

Having offered a first on-track glimpse of the AMR26 at last month's Barcelona shakedown under a black camouflage livery, the look that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will sport this year was officially unveiled in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

There was little surprise in terms of colour scheme, with the team sticking to the 'racing green' shade it has run with since returning to the sport in 2021, but there remains plenty of excitement around the first car designed under Newey's leadership.

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Newey, who joined as managing technical partner in March 2025 before also taking on the role of team principal ahead of the new season, explained last week that Aston Martin's brand new wind tunnel not being ready for use until April last year had put them behind their rivals as all-new regulations are introduced for the 2026 season.

Asked on Monday by Sky Sports News whether the delay would cost Aston Martin in the early stages of the season, Newey said: "It's bound to, to be perfectly honest.

"We got in the tunnel mid to late April, as opposed to January 2 for everybody else. But more than that, everybody else has been working on their CFD [Computational Fluid Dynamics] and general layouts and mechanical layouts way, way before us, so we're starting on the back foot and we'll do our best to catch up."

Even in the camouflage livery that it appeared in for little more than a day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the AMR26 immediately caught the eye in the pit lane, with the car's nose, side pods and engine cover all differing to what had been on rival models.

While there was nothing further to be learnt about the design of the AMR26 on Monday as the livery was displayed on a show car, much attention will undoubtedly be focused on the green car when pre-season testing continues in Bahrain on Wednesday.

Newey added: "We've been working on updates initially for race one, and now thinking about subsequent updates, which is the nature of Formula 1 in any case, but also this very new of regulations and a car that's had a very compressed cycle."

AMR26 one of 'more extreme interpretations' of rules

Newey admitted Aston Martin's new car is "one of the more extreme interpretations" of this year's new rules, telling the BBC: "It seems to be a bit different to some of the other solutions out there.

"A bit like 2022, there's a new set of aerodynamic regulations, there's been lots of different interpretations. Whether it's the right one or the wrong one, only time will tell."

Mercedes driver George Russell described it as "pretty spectacular", adding it was "probably the most standout in terms of the car design and it looks very impressive".

Williams team principal James Vowles said it was a "really interesting design".

Newey added: "Because of the very compressed design time, we decided on a single direction that we would pursue. That is what we've done."

Alonso: We need to walk before running

Aston Martin have long considered the arrival of drastic new regulations for the 2026 season as their opportunity to become title contenders, and the arrival of Newey has only strengthened their belief.

Two-time world champion Alonso was sold a long-term vision when he joined the team in 2023, but after a hugely promising first campaign in green, has had to endure two underwhelming campaigns.

The 44-year-old Spaniard insisted over the last couple of years that his team had the best overall package for the new generation, but is warning that some time may be required to challenge for wins and titles.

"I feel that it's an important moment in the project of Aston Martin," Alonso told Sky Sports News. "We finally have our facilities completed. We have our wind tunnel now designing the car, not a third party one anymore. We have our own gearbox for the first time - that's a big challenge but in a way it gives you the freedom of designing a key component of the car for the very first time. We have Honda as a partner, so all the pieces now are coming together.

"Our biggest challenge is glueing everything, and timing, especially for me. Coming from seventh in the Constructors' Championship last year, we need to walk before running and we need to make the steps one at a time.

"We are competitors, we want to win, we want to fight for big things, and I think that requires a little bit of time, but we want to make this as short as possible."

Alonso's team-mate Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, agreed that Aston Martin can't expect to be contenders at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 8.

"We still have to manage expectations," Stroll told Sky Sports News. "Everything is very fresh still. The relationship with Honda is new, making our own gearbox for the first time, Adrian just joined the team.

"I don't think we're going to arrive in Melbourne ready to fight for race wins. It's much more about the development rate throughout the season and just being as effective as we can bringing upgrades and just getting better every weekend.

"We have all the tools to fight for race wins and championships. Is it going to happen overnight? No. Do I believe we can get there? Yes, and that's why I'm very motivated and excited to be a part of this journey."

Sky Sports F1's Bahrain Testing schedule

Test One: Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th February

• 3pm: Final hour of track running Live
• 8pm: Testing Wrap
• 8.30pm: Ted's Testing Notebook

Test Two: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February

• 6.50am-11.05am: Morning session Live
• 11.55am-4.10pm: Afternoon session Live
• 8pm: Testing Wrap

Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

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