Newey’s monster is born: the AMR26 takes its first tentative steps in Barcelona

Under intense anticipation — and after a delay of three days and seven hours — Lance Stroll finally rolled the Aston Martin AMR26 out of the garage at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. The car appeared in raw carbon fiber, freshly assembled by the mechanics just minutes earlier at record speed.

Meticulously crafted

The long‑awaited creation of Adrian Newey has officially been born. It was a slow “delivery,” driven by the demands of the design office, but the first images — both public and private — reveal an aggressively engineered machine in every sense. Aerodynamically, it’s easily the most radical car seen on track so far.

The hollowed‑out sidepods echo the Red Bull designs that came from the same mastermind. The wakeboard area features heavily sculpted winglets, and the Honda engine cover narrows dramatically as it approaches the rear suspension. Every line looks intentional and meticulously crafted.

Compared with the AMR26, other teams seem to have arrived in Barcelona with far more conservative cars — though that’s not entirely surprising. Aston Martin’s new challenger didn’t leave the factory until Wednesday morning, while most teams had already completed laps before Sunday night.

Alonso takes the wheel Friday

Fernando Alonso is scheduled to drive the AMR26 on Friday, sharing the day with his teammate. The two‑time world champion was already at the track on Thursday. “Excited, excited. First you have to get in the car and manage expectations. But I’m happy to be back and start working,” he told Jugones upon arriving at Montmeló.

Productive? Not exactly. The AMR26 completed only a handful of installation laps — four in total — with a non‑representative 1:46.404. The car stopped after the fourth lap, ending the session under a red flag. The team will need to tighten things up before Friday’s running.

Mercedes dominates again

Across the rest of the field, it was another smooth day for Mercedes, with George Russell setting the fastest time of the week at 1:16.445. Still far from Oscar Piastri’s 1:11.546 pole time in 2025, but the gap is down to five seconds — the FIA had predicted four. Russell logged 77 laps, while Kimi Antonelli completed 90 in the morning.

Ferrari also showed strong reliability, with Charles Leclerc putting in 89 laps and Lewis Hamilton adding 85. Still, only the Mercedes W17 dipped below the 1:18 mark. The team had already completed race simulations the day before and is among the few that have wrapped up all three days of testing.

Friday’s running

On Friday, only McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, Ferrari, Audi, Haas, and of course Red Bull will be on track. Max Verstappen has been sidelined for two days following Isack Hadjar’s crash on Tuesday, which forced the team to rush replacement parts directly to Barcelona. The incident at Turn 14 was poorly timed — as was the decision to run in such difficult, rainy conditions with a brand‑new car and no spare components.

But no one in the paddock is in a position to lecture anyone else. Aston Martin’s car has only just arrived. If anything, Mercedes looks like the team already packing up with confidence.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.