The Aston Martin and Williams teams had a disastrous start to the 2026 season, not having their cars ready at the beginning of testing. The technical problems turned out to be very serious, and catching up will take several months. We now know the specifics of when they plan to introduce key upgrades to their designs.
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It has been five months since the first round of pre-season testing in 2026, and the Aston Martin and Williams teams are still seriously disappointing. The problems with their cars this year have proven to be very serious, and now we know when they will manage to introduce key changes. The rest of Formula 1 is not standing still; everyone is systematically developing, so these two teams have more and more ground to make up week by week. This is the situation in modern F1. If someone has serious problems even before the season starts, they will not be able to catch up quickly. The level of competitiveness in F1 is extremely high, and finances are a serious limitation. The budget cap levels the playing field; it is one of the best changes in F1 in the 21st century. Teams cannot spend unlimited money. Therefore, if very large changes are needed in the car, e.g., introducing a new monocoque and crash tests, other upgrades must be limited to have the budget for it. The richest teams do not escape this.
Adrian Newey announces a breakthrough for Aston Martin during the Hungarian GP
After many months of silence, Adrian Newey gave a long interview to the Aston Martin website – link to the full interview. This is a very safe format, but he speaks there every few months. Importantly, Newey provided a lot of specifics in this interview. Newey admitted that he has recently struggled with some health problems, which affected his involvement with the team. This confirms rumors from recent months. Below I present the most important facts from his long interview regarding the car and the team’s plans.
– The team had too high expectations before the 2026 season, which they started with problems with the car and engine.
– Work on the 2026 car began in mid-March 2025, and the wind tunnel model was ready by mid-April 2025, several months later than rivals. Newey did not say this now, but in previous interviews, he said that when he joined the team, they started work from scratch and abandoned previous data. He had a different idea for the car.
– The AMR26 car is very overweight, partly related to its integration with the power unit. They introduced additional elements to reduce vibrations.
– He took a bold step in the aerodynamic design, which turned out to be unsuccessful. They did not have time in the factory to test different options. It is not fundamentally wrong, so it will be developed.
– They only used the full power of the Honda engine during the third practice in Australia.
– The team was not well organized; some procedures and tools used date back over 20 years, from when it was Jordan. Components for the new car were not built on time and in the correct order.
– Aston Martin now produces most components themselves; previously, many parts were produced by external companies. Switching to in-house production will bring significant benefits but was initially a challenge. The effects will be visible in the B version of the AMR26 car. The team currently produces the gearbox casing and floor themselves.
– They deliberately decided not to introduce classic upgrades in the first phase of the season, saving the budget for a large package of changes.
– Aston Martin plans to introduce the B version of this year’s car at the Hungarian GP. The main structural elements will not change much but will be significantly lightened. This concerns the monocoque and gearbox. New FIA crash tests are required. Minor changes will be made to the rear suspension; they have prepared a new nose and revised aerodynamics for the entire car.
– The team will approach the minimum weight level but will not reach it yet.
– Newey did not specify the scale of lap time improvement expected after introducing this package.
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– Newey wants Fernando Alonso to stay for another season. He plans to convince him with the upgrade package from Hungary.
– Work on the 2027 car is already underway but at an early stage. They are currently developing the structural concept, the main components that will not be changed later. They plan to start building the car earlier to avoid any delays. There are several regulatory changes that will require a different approach to aerodynamics. Bigger regulatory changes concern the power unit.
From Newey’s long statements, I see two main conclusions. First, he said nothing about the engine. It is unknown what Honda plans, when, and how much it will improve. This is a key issue because without Honda’s improvements, Aston Martin will achieve nothing. Newey clearly said that despite all these changes and the introduction of the B version of the car at the Hungarian GP, they will not yet reach the minimum weight level. So it looks like they will be overweight until the end of the year.
Aston Martin currently loses about 4 seconds to the leaders in qualifying; it was previously estimated that half of this is the car’s fault and half the engine’s. From Newey’s statements, it appears they will significantly improve the car, but it still will not be the expected level this year. Thinking optimistically about an improvement of about 1.5 seconds per lap, Aston Martin will be on the borderline of advancing from Q1 to Q2, and the fight for points will still be far away. One cannot be optimistic about this year.
Honda is also expected to introduce upgrades based on ADUO mid-year, just before or just after the summer break – this information comes from Japanese media. If Honda achieves significant gains, then Aston Martin may join the midfield teams. Personally, I do not expect them to be regularly fighting for points because the deficits to make up are huge. Remember also that currently, due to Honda, they lose a lot on straights to all rivals. Even if they improve the car and increase cornering speed, every midfield rival will still beat them on the straight. Update 14:50 Honda’s boss said before the British GP that they aim to introduce the improved engine at the Dutch GP, i.e., after the summer break.
Williams to make a breakthrough at the end of September in Azerbaijan
In 2025, Williams boasted that they were the first to abandon car development and shifted all factory resources to preparations for the 2026 season. They promised a refined car and entry into the top ranks. Last year’s results were very decent, and since James Vowles joined the team at the beginning of 2023, investments and modernizations have been underway. There were grounds to expect a good season from this team.
Ultimately, Williams completely botched their plans. They did not manage to prepare the car for the January tests in Barcelona and debuted only in Bahrain. We still do not know the specific reason for this delay. Was it failed FIA crash tests or other internal problems? Probably several different reasons. The facts are that the Williams FW48 had an estimated 28 kg overweight at the start of testing and does not stand out aerodynamically or structurally. Honestly, I do not know how they could work on this car for so long and not come up with any innovations.
In the first phase of the season, the team introduced some upgrades and had packages related to slimming down the car. Despite these efforts, the form remains very poor. They have scored only 11 points during eight race weekends, and their drivers often drop out in Q1 qualifying. They rank 8th-9th in the pecking order. On the short track in Austria, they lost over 2 seconds to the Pole Position time and over a second to the position allowing advancement to Q3. Remember, they use a Mercedes power unit, which is a big advantage. This means their car is really at a poor level.
The team revealed their upgrade plan to the media just before the British GP. They will have a medium aerodynamic upgrade package at Silverstone. Then minor things for the next races in Belgium and Hungary. A bigger package of changes will appear in the Netherlands, where they will focus on further slimming the car. James Vowles announces the final changes at the Azerbaijan GP at the end of September, when they plan to introduce a “new car.” We do not know exactly what this means, but it can be speculated that they are preparing new structural elements, possibly a new monocoque, which must pass crash tests. Their design and production take a lot of time, hence the distant perspective. Spanish media report the introduction of a new monocoque in September, which will be built differently and allow the weight to go below the regulatory limit.
I expect the changes they introduce in Azerbaijan will be the basis for the FW49 car for the 2027 season. Williams does not have the resources to prepare a significantly different design for the next season; they will have to rely on what they prepare now. Therefore, the scale of improvement must be very large. Unfortunately, I am not optimistic here; the maximum goal for Williams seems to be joining the midfield front teams, which will be very difficult. The tight top is very far away. The delays from before this season will not be caught up during the year.
Summary
In modern Formula 1, the worst thing you can do is prepare a failed car design at the start of the regulations. We already had such examples in 2022, and now we have the cases of Aston Martin and Williams in 2026. Making up losses in the era of budget caps takes a lot of time. Teams that entered the new regulations well then systematically develop and maintain a good level. It is very difficult to catch them.
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