"This new set of regulations is just another opportunity to test myself" – 13 quotes to take from Opening Night

Adrian Newey on seeing air and 12-hour days designing the AMR26, Koji Watanabe on 24/7 power unit development, and Jamal Muashsher on pushing physics to the limit.

The curtain's up. The cover's off. Opening Night is complete.

On 9 February, we revealed the livery for our 2026 challenger, the AMR26, at Ithra, a Center for World Culture and a stunning setting for an equally stellar cast.

As the wraps came off our new look for the new season – and new era of Formula One, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Managing Technical Partner and Team Principal Adrian Newey, and our partners Aramco, Honda, and Valvoline, took to the stage. This was more than a livery reveal, it was a statement of what's to come. And this is what they had to say...

1 | Lance on the team's transformation

"When I think back to the team we were in 2021, and when you see everything that's happened since, the transformation is incredible. The ambition we have is huge. We want to win. We want to fight for race wins and championships in the future. It's very exciting and motivating for everyone to be a part of that."

2 | Fernando on the pieces coming together

"It's our very first year as a works team and we have all the pieces coming together. We have the AMR Technology Campus, we have the CoreWeave AI.R Tunnel, we have Aramco, Honda, Valvoline and all our partners. Everything is combining and this is a very important season for the team.

"I feel it is the beginning of something. I'm very excited to be part of the project and we're looking forward to working flat out to have the success this team deserves."

3 | Adrian on shedding a tear over his new creation

"When the AMR26 first pulled out of the garage in Barcelona with Lance driving, Lawrence and I were standing next to each other and I think we were both quite close to having a tear in our eyes. It's been a long, emotional journey of passion and there was a lot of hard work done to get it to Barcelona."

4 | Adrian on the philosophy behind the AMR26

"When the regulations were first revealed, I tried to think about their principles and possible solutions. I came up with a philosophy and when I started with the team I discussed that philosophy with the aerodynamicists and the designers. We all agreed it seemed a viable proposal, and that's what we've followed ever since."

5 | Adrian on whether he can see air

"I can't, but I try to do my best to visualise what the flow is. Nowadays with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), we have a fabulous tool for understanding what's going on. It's then using the clues from that to try to go forwards and develop the next idea."

6 | Fernando on the importance of the second half of this season

"I think the second part of the season is going to be even more important than the first. If you understand the car's weaknesses early enough, you can make progress.

"I think Bahrain testing and the first few races will somewhat dictate the path for the rest of the season.

"We're very focused on development and as a driver it gives you the feeling that you will play an important part as you need to give good feedback."

7 | Adrian on the development race

"This year, there's likely to be a huge amount of development.

"I would imagine that for many teams, including ourselves, the car that they ran in Barcelona will be a fair bit different to the car they actually race in Melbourne."

8 | Lance on his relentless drive

"Something I enjoy about racing is the challenge over the years never gets easier, it only changes. Each race weekend has its unique challenges, and it forces you to get better and challenge your strengths and weaknesses.

"I wake up in the morning and I go racing because I want to push myself, to challenge myself, to get better every day. And this new set of regulations is just another opportunity to test myself, and for the whole team to show how good we can be."

9 | Adrian on seeking opportunity in the regulations

"Whenever there's a big regulation change, there's always huge opportunity. It's about who spots what and what proves to be the correct solution.

"You saw that in 2022 with the last big regulation change. To start, there was a lot of different interpretation solutions but, in the end, one tended to be the most appropriate and that's what, by the start of 2024, everybody just started to converge on.

"And that pace of development will continue through the season, I'm sure."

10 | Adrian on working in 'the best facilities in Formula One'

"The AMR Technology Campus is a lovely building to work in. A lot of us have been doing 12-hour days, if not more, over the last few months to get to this point, so having a pleasant feeling towards the room you're working in is very important. The layout of the building is very conducive to everybody working together.

"Lawrence's vision and investment has given us, without doubt, the best facilities in Formula One, and that's a tremendous asset, but it's clearly only one part of the equation.

"The equally important second part is the personnel that populate that building and how they work together, and that's where we're making huge strides."

11 | HRC President Koji Watanabe on developing the RA626H power unit

"The new regulations are really challenging. The MGU-K is three times more powerful than before but battery capacity remains almost unchanged, so we have fewer energy generation sources. Energy management will therefore be the key for the new power unit.

"Our engineers often travel to the AMR Technology Campus and engineers from Aston Martin are working hard in our factory in Japan. Distance itself is not a challenge, and there's an advantage we get from the time difference because if we send a question to Silverstone at the end of the working day in Japan, the next morning we have the answer. It's 24-hour development."

12 | Valvoline CEO of Global Operations Jamal Muashsher on pushing the limits of physics

"Motor oil is critical to the protection and performance of the engine. As we set out to develop our lubricants for the team, our focus was on reducing friction on the rapid moving parts of the engine, while also taking heat away from those rapid moving parts.

"The other critical factor with a motor oil is driving consistency because that impacts race strategy, engine performance, driveability, and calibration. It's important that we design something to maximise performance.

"We want to win and we want to push the limits of science and physics to create a competitive advantage for the team."

13 | Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation Ahmad Al-Khowaiter on the fuel powering the AMR26

"We've been working closely with Aston Martin since 2022 on motorsport technologies and with Formula One, Formula 2, Formula 3, and F1 ACADEMY on supplying low carbon fuels, all in preparation for this season.

"We've been able to work with Aston Martin and Honda to develop our low carbon fuels, and we are looking forward to the introduction of ProForce+, our 100 per cent FIA-compliant sustainable fuel. From this season's racing, we're hoping to collect a lot of data that we'll be able to use to perfect future formulations and hopefully achieve future wins."