Aston Martin to skip Monday’s Barcelona test session

Aston Martin confirmed it will not run the AMR26 on the first day of the five‑day Barcelona pre‑season shakedown, aligning with McLaren, Ferrari and Williams who are also sitting out Monday. Team principal Adrian Newey explained the chassis will stay in the garage while the squad finishes development, targeting three testing days later in the week once the new components receive clearance.

Why it matters:

• Data loss – Skipping a full day cuts mileage for the new chassis and power unit, delaying early reliability checks.
• Competitive gap – Rivals will already have baseline data, forcing Aston Martin to chase the curve later.

The details:

• Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari will miss Monday; Williams is out for the entire test.
• The AMR26 passed most crash tests, but a few new parts still need clearance.
• The team has three testing days to use and hopes to schedule them after the forecasted rain clears.

What's next:

• Newey will announce the final run‑plan on Monday, confirming which days the AMR26 will take to the track.
• If weather improves, the team can log ~300 km across the three sessions, enough to validate aero and power‑unit upgrades before Bahrain.