Aston Martin has formally unveiled the livery of the AMR26, the first Formula 1 car conceived under the leadership of Adrian Newey, with the renowned designer acknowledging that development delays are likely to affect the team at the start of the 2026 season.
The AMR26 had already offered a fleeting on-track preview during a low-key shakedown at Barcelona last month, running in an all-black camouflage scheme. On Monday evening in Saudi Arabia, the covers were removed from the car’s official race colours, revealing the look that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will carry into the new campaign.
While the design stayed true to Aston Martin’s now-familiar British racing green – a colour the team has retained since its return to Formula 1 in 2021 – the significance of the launch lay less in aesthetics and more in what the car represents. This is the first Aston Martin built with Newey at the helm of its technical direction, a milestone moment in the team’s long-term project.
Newey: early impact inevitable
Newey, who joined Aston Martin as managing technical partner in March 2025 and assumed the role of team principal ahead of the new season, has been candid about the challenges faced during the AMR26’s development.
The team’s brand-new wind tunnel, a cornerstone of its ambitions under the radically revised 2026 regulations, was not operational until April last year – several months later than rival teams, who had been gathering data since early January.
Whether that delay would hinder Aston Martin in the opening phase of the season, Newey was unequivocal.
“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 during its brief appearance in camouflage at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the AMR26 drew attention in the pit lane. Elements such as the nose profile, sidepod architecture and engine cover stood out as noticeably different to rival designs, hinting at a distinct aerodynamic philosophy.
Monday’s unveiling, however, was conducted using a show car, so no further technical insights were revealed at the event. That scrutiny will come swiftly, with eyes across the paddock set to focus on the green car when pre-season testing resumes in Bahrain from Wednesday.
Newey explained that the compressed development window has already shaped the team’s approach to upgrades.
“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.”
Alonso urges patience as project comes together
For Aston Martin, the sweeping regulatory changes coming into force in 2026 have long been viewed as a golden opportunity to transform itself into a championship contender. Newey’s arrival has only reinforced that belief within the organisation.
Fernando Alonso was sold a long-term vision when he joined the team in 2023. After a stunning debut season in green, the two-time world champion has since endured back-to-back campaigns that failed to meet those early heights.
Now 44, Alonso has consistently spoken of his confidence in Aston Martin’s infrastructure and future prospects, but he is also realistic about the time required for those elements to translate into results on track.
“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.”
Stroll: development is the real measure
Lance Stroll echoed Alonso’s caution, stressing that expectations must be managed as the team embarks on a new technical era. With a fresh power-unit partnership with Honda, an in-house gearbox programme, and Newey only recently embedded, Stroll believes progress will be measured over months rather than races.
The Canadian does not expect Aston Martin to be fighting at the front when the season begins in Australia 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.”
As Aston Martin heads into Bahrain testing, the AMR26 represents both promise and patience – a car born slightly late, but carrying the weight of one of Formula 1’s most ambitious long-term projects.
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