The British team introduces in Azerbaijan its last significant update, focused on weight reduction. Enrico Cardile confirms that from then on the car will be the definitive version and all resources will be poured into the 2027 project.
Aston Martin faced the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with what will be its last big update of the season. The Silverstone team brought a lighter AMR26 to Baku, aiming to get closer to the regulatory weight limit and put itself on equal terms with its direct rivals; from then on, the green car will enter its definitive version, and the team's efforts will focus on developing the 2027 car.
Enrico Cardile, technical director of Aston Martin Racing has confirmed the details of this final update: "We still have to complete our weight reduction program, it should be finished for the Baku race, from Baku we will basically race with the definitive version of the car for the rest of the season" Cardile declared.
The Italian engineer stressed the importance of this step: "The amount of weight the team has saved depends on which race you choose as a reference but it is a significant amount, enough to notably improve the lap time".
The weight reduction process has been complex and has required a deep review of multiple components: "It's an important result, sometimes it's due to the modification of specific components, other times it involves completely rethinking the way something has been designed from the start, even the chassis. It's a combination of small details and big structural interventions" Cardile explained, who made clear what the objective is: to reach the allowed weight limit, something the team considers fundamental to be competitive, noting that in Baku, according to Enrico's own words, they will get very close to the weight limit, which is exactly where Aston Martin wants to be.
The latest aerodynamic updates of the AMR26 were introduced in Hungary and Zandvoort, with modifications to the front wing and the floor. Cardile confirmed that these will be the last planned for the current car: "After Hungary, we introduced some small changes: modifications to the front wing and the floor in Zandvoort, these will be the last aerodynamic advances planned for this car" he noted.
The only exception to this rule would be the possibility of testing on track some advance developed for the 2027 car: "The only exception would be if, during the development of the 2027 car, we discovered something worth testing on track this year to help us improve the correlation, but for the moment, there is nothing else planned" Cardile stated, this strategy reflects Aston Martin's philosophy: to take advantage of the last races of 2026 to collect valuable data that allow facing with guarantees the project of next year.
The British team has experienced a season of ups and downs, the improvements introduced by Adrian Newey in the chassis and aerodynamics have allowed Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to be competitive on high-downforce circuits but the power deficit of the Honda engine remains a burden on layouts where top speed is decisive; the weight reduction is one more step in the search for more consistent performance.
Baku was a key weekend for Aston Martin: the weight update will allow the team to check whether the AMR26 is finally up to its rivals in terms of efficiency; from there, the focus will be on 2027, when Honda hopes to make a leap in quality with its power unit and Aston Martin trusts in delivering the definitive blow on the table.
The 2026 season enters its final phase and the Silverstone team is already working on the future.
