Pedro de la Rosa admits that Aston Martin "doesn't have time" to sort out its problems before Melbourne

The preparation ofAston Martin The plans for the 2026 season did not meet expectations. The new carThe car, designed under the direction of Adrian Newey and powered by Honda, arrived late for the Barcelona shakedown, before encountering several difficulties during testing in Bahrain. When questioned by the F1Pedro de la Rosa, representing Aston Martin since 2022, did not seek to downplay the situation. "It's extremely difficult.", he sums up at the outset to describe the preseason of the team based in Silverstone.

In Bahrain, problems piled up. During a race simulation held on Thursday of the second week, Fernando Alonso had to stop his car at the exit of turn 4, prematurely ending his practice session. On the final day, his teammate Lance stroll only completed a handful of untimed laps (six exactly), amid technical checks being carried out at the Honda factory in Sakura and a shortage of parts related to the power unit.

"There are so many things on the list to test that we haven't had time to do, physically, no time.""That's true," admits Pedro de la Rosa. The British team only completed 128 laps during the second of three days in Bahrain, while its rivals were able to achieve that total in a single day. The representative emphasizes the scale of the task ahead: “We have clearly identified the main priorities, but upon closer examination, we discover a long list of details to consider. I think it touches on almost every area; it’s impossible to say that it only concerns one, there are so many things.”

One of the sensitive points is energy recovery during braking, which has become central with the 2026 regulations. "At the moment, we are more in the phase of understanding what we have than in the optimization phase.", he explains, emphasizing that the team first seeks to define the limits of its package before extracting performance from it.

Honda's integration and a late start

The exclusive partnership with Honda represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The Japanese engine manufacturer had announced its withdrawal at the end of 2021 before reversing its decision and allowing Red Bull to seize two Constructors' titles, a context which would have impacted the work on the new regulatory cycle of 2026. "It's fair to say that their initial decision to withdraw from F1, and then their reversal, has somewhat slowed down, or even delayed, the process of developing the 2026 regulations. It's not ideal, but they've already admitted it, and all we can do is wait.", explains Pedro de la Rosa.

On the Aston Martin side, the arrival of Adrian Newey in March 2025, often cited as the best engineer in the Formula 1 paddock, has also not facilitated early preparation. "For our part, Adrian started on March 2nd, in the middle of the 2025 season, which wasn't ideal either." Despite this, the Spaniard insists on the quality of the collaboration: “Communication with Honda has been going very well so far. We have many Honda engineers [at Silverstone], and we live together. We have lunch and dinner with them, and we participate in debriefing meetings with our engineers and theirs.” Being the only team powered by Honda limits comparative mileage, as could be the case for Mercedes Benz ou Classic Ferrari for sale, but this guarantees, according to Pedro de la Rosa, the full attention of the Japanese manufacturer.

Total confidence in Adrian Newey

Pedro de la Rosa, however, openly displays admiration for his new technical director. “I’m really impressed by Adrian [Newey]. Listening to him, you understand how clear his vision of the car is and what we need to improve. It gives the whole team excellent direction to work in the same direction.” He then adds: "Adrian [Newey] knows what's missing, and he inspires confidence by showing that he knows where lap time is coming from and that he'll get it."

Looking back on their past collaboration in Formula 1 at McLaren In the mid-2000s, the Aston Martin representative recounts a significant episode: “In 2005, our pace of development for the first races was impressive, and we even designed the fastest car. […] But that’s Adrian’s style. I thought to myself, ‘This guy is different.’” Regarding the 2026 single-seater, he emphasizes the visual and conceptual identity of the British engineer: "The moment you lay eyes on this car, on the way the layout has been conceived, on the precision of the whole, on its beauty, you immediately recognize an Adrian Newey car."

Fernando Alonso is "still at 100%"

Faced with questions about Fernando Alonso's motivation, especially in light of a previous complicated collaboration in F1 with Honda at McLaren, Pedro de la Rosa is categorical. "One of Fernando [Alonso]'s characteristics is that, regardless of the stage of his life and career, or the level of competitiveness of the team, it will not change his commitment: it is always constant, at its maximum."

He then insisted: “Working with Fernando [Alonso] is fantastic because you always get 100%. […] When you don’t see [the light at the end of the tunnel] for a decade, but you’re still there giving it your all every weekend, every day of testing, everything, it’s really great to see.” He also describes a positive dynamic between Fernando Alonso and Adrian Newey: “I feel that Fernando is so… I would say happy to be able to work with Adrian. […] They both give off an extremely positive energy.”

When asked about expectations for the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Pedro de la Rosa remained cautious: "Honestly, I don't really know, nobody really knows." The priority is clear: "First and foremost, reliability, because without reliability, there are no answers." Without a specific public target, the team is counting on continuous progress: "Race after race, we will progress, progress, progress. [...] We will get there, that's for sure." A speech which therefore remains lucid, focused on the facts and current difficulties, but carried by a displayed confidence in the technical and human structure put in place around Aston Martin for the new regulatory cycle of Formula 1 in 2026.

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