Karun Chandhok, Sky Sports F1 analyst and former Formula 1 driver, has called on the Aston Martin team to stop looking for scapegoats in light of the difficulties they have faced at the start of the 2026 season.
The team led by Lawrence Stroll entered this new season with high expectations, driven by a new collaboration agreement with Honda and the technical leadership of Adrian Newey. However, the reality has shown that difficulties have been predominant, with a low number of laps completed during preseason testing.
After a complicated start in the first grands prix, the head of the Japanese team brought small improvements, but there is still much work to be done. “They carry a good load, right? What can they do? They can’t change engines, nor can they turn back time. They are in this situation, so they have to work collaboratively,” Chandhok commented.
Furthermore, the expert expressed his understanding of the sacrifices made by Stroll, who has invested large amounts of money in this project. “They have built an incredible factory, a new wind tunnel… Everything was designed to move them from the midfield to being a top 5 team, and now they haven’t achieved it,” he added.
On her part, Bernie Collins, former strategist of Aston Martin, warned that it could take the entire season to see significant improvements in performance. “I think the change will be slow, as any issue related to the engine or gearbox requires considerable time to solve,” she stated.
In this context, the team is looking to understand their problems and apply solutions, although improvements may not be immediate. “The first goal is to learn and understand, to then try to obtain a new engine, but they may have a complicated year ahead,” concludes Collins’ analysis.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_535b746499c996c01240362bc8b94e52e705cf96