AMR26 makes debut at Barcelona Shakedown

The team made its 2026 track debut with the AMR26 taking part in the penultimate day of the Shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Lance Stroll was at the wheel of Aston Martin Aramco's first-ever Adrian Newey-designed Formula One machine, with an all-new Honda power unit. He completed a handful of laps towards the end of the day's running.

"It felt good to be in the cockpit for the first time this year," said Lance, reflecting on his very early impressions of the AMR26. "It was a long day for all the mechanics and everyone in the team but they did a good job of getting the car ready. They pushed flat out.

"We got a few laps in at the end of the day and the car was feeling good. Because so much is new on these cars, there's a lot to learn about it and so we're just aiming to gather as much data as possible at the moment."

"It's always a very positive moment when you run a new car for the first time," added Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack.

"A lot of hard work has gone in to get to this point, and there's a lot of work still to come, but today we can take a breath and be happy that we rolled the car out.

"It's an exciting time. We're welcoming Honda as our new power unit partner and we're learning to work together and integrate as much as we can. They are racers and we're really looking forward to developing our partnership.

"We've also made our first gearbox in many years, and this is Managing Technical Partner and Team Principal Adrian Newey's first Aston Martin F1 car, so there's plenty for us to learn. That's what this Shakedown and pre-season testing in Bahrain are for.

"Now we're focusing on tomorrow. It's all about accumulating laps, learning as much as possible about the new car, and maximising the final day of the Shakedown before we look ahead to Bahrain."

Fernando Alonso will also be in the cockpit tomorrow, as the team continues to shake down the car on the final day in Barcelona.