Adrian Newey reveals Aston Martin's AMR26 ran unpainted in Barcelona due to time crunch

Adrian Newey has revealed that Aston Martin's 2026 Formula 1 car, the AMR26, ran in an all-black livery at the Barcelona shakedown simply because the team ran out of time to paint it. The emotional first run of the car, overseen by Newey since his high-profile move from Red Bull, marks the beginning of a critical new era for the Silverstone-based squad as it transitions to a full works team with Honda power.

Why it matters:

The rushed but emotional debut underscores the intense pressure and high stakes for Aston Martin as it embarks on its most ambitious project yet. With Newey at the technical helm and a new factory power unit partnership, the team is aiming to leverage the 2026 regulation reset to climb from the midfield back to the front of the grid, a journey that started with a literal race against time just to get the car on track.

The details:

• The AMR26 completed only a day-and-a-half of running at the permitted Barcelona shakedown, with Lance Stroll managing just five laps on the first day before a technical issue halted running.
• Fernando Alonso later completed a more substantial 61 laps on the final day in the unpainted, carbon-black chassis.
• Newey described an emotional moment with team owner Lawrence Stroll watching the car's first garage exit, stating they were both "quite close to having a tear in our eyes" after a long and passionate development journey.
• The car that will race has since been unveiled in the team's traditional British Racing Green livery at an event in Saudi Arabia.
• The AMR26 is the first car fully developed in the team's new Silverstone wind tunnel and the first conceived under Newey's leadership as Managing Technical Partner.

What's next:

All focus now shifts to the official pre-season test in Bahrain on February 11-13, where the painted AMR26 will run alongside the rest of the grid. Newey, who has also assumed the team principal role, views the massive 2026 technical regulation changes as a golden opportunity for a reset.

"Whenever there's a big regulation change, there's always huge opportunities," Newey said. He pointed to the 2022 season, where varied initial car interpretations eventually converged on a dominant design philosophy, suggesting Aston Martin aims to be the team that finds the "correct solution" first this time. The team's ultimate goal is to transform from podium contenders in early 2023 back into consistent front-runners.