Aston Martin is about to skip the opening two days of the primary 2026 Method 1 pre-season check in Barcelona, Autosport understands.
F1 is at the moment internet hosting a five-day shakedown at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (26-30 January), forward of additional assessments in Bahrain (11-13 and 18-20 February) earlier than the forthcoming marketing campaign.
This season will introduce widespread regulation modifications and because of this, the Catalan check is being held behind closed doorways with groups permitted a most three days of operating.
It’s already identified that Mercedes, Audi, Alpine, Haas, Cadillac, Racing Bulls and Crimson Bull are out on observe throughout the first day, with McLaren and Ferrari set to start out on Tuesday.
Williams, meanwhile, announced last week that it was skipping Barcelona “to prepare for the first official test in Bahrain” with a sequence of digital assessments “following delays within the FW48 programme”.
The one workforce whose plan will not be solely identified is Aston Martin, however Autosport can reveal that it’s going to not be seen in Barcelona till Wednesday on the earliest, with Thursday being a real risk.
Mercedes W17 Barcelona check
Photograph by: Method 1
That’s regardless of the Silverstone outfit’s hospitality and assist constructions being current on the observe, however it’s understood that Aston’s state of affairs is just like that of Williams with delays in improvement.
The 2026 rules are proving an enormous problem for all groups with modifications throughout the entire automotive: the chassis is now lighter and smaller, whereas energy models characteristic extra electrical vitality with a close to 50-50 break up alongside the inner combustion engine.
A automotive chassis turning into lighter is already proving troublesome for groups, as they’re struggling to satisfy the lowered minimal weight of 768kg – final 12 months it was 800kg.
There may be additionally the added complication at Aston Martin that it’s partnering with a brand new energy unit provider this 12 months, as it’s turning into a Honda works’ outfit reasonably than its earlier guise as a Mercedes buyer workforce.
This comes alongside a brand new workforce principal in Adrian Newey, who’s getting into the workforce boss position for the primary time following a long time of being a championship-winning designer.
The expectations at Aston Martin are due to this fact large for the approaching years, particularly following vital funding from billionaire proprietor Lawrence Stroll, however it could not meet the three days of observe time in Barcelona this week.
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