Aston Martin is experiencing its worst season since Fernando Alonso's arrival at the team. The driver has accumulated just one point in eleven grands prix contested in 2026, a stark contrast to his previous performances with the team: fourth place in 2023 with 206 points, ninth in 2024 with 70, and tenth in 2025 with 56.
The problem lies in the design of the AMR26, which according to reports was deficient from the start of the season. Adrian Newey, the renowned aerodynamic designer, failed to achieve his usual precision in his work. This was compounded by a Honda power unit that generated severe vibrations, affecting the car's reliability and limiting the drivers' ability to complete races.
Aston Martin currently sits tenth in the constructors' championship with just one point, well below Alpine, whose driver Pierre Gasly heads the classification of pointless teams with 42. Last year at this stage of the season, the team had accumulated 28 points.
Former driver Johnny Herbert expressed his scepticism about the prospects for recovery. Herbert, who won three races in Formula 1, raised the possibility that Newey is experiencing an irreversible decline, saying that "it is hard to understand how it has all gone so wrong" with Newey at the helm, the new factory, and the wind tunnel, in addition to having Alonso on board. Herbert suggested that this could be "the first sign that he is caught in a downward spiral".
However, Newey maintains an optimistic message. The designer stated that the team is in an improved position to take advantage of regulatory changes, after having matured as an organisation over the last twelve months. Driver David Coulthard, a winner of 13 races, predicted that Aston Martin will be the team that improves the most over the next two years and will win races in that period.