The new Aston Martin appeared in Barcelona and stole all the attention. With a radical design signed by Adrian Newey, the AMR-26 made its on-track debut and sent a strong message in preseason testing.
Aston Martin was the biggest visual and conceptual impact of the fourth day of testing in Barcelona. Even though the fastest time went to Mercedes, the spotlight shifted when the AMR-26 rolled out of the garage for the first time and showed a complete break from everything seen so far in the 2026 preseason.
The new single-seater of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll hit the track in the final stretch of the day, entirely black, with no frills, and with a design that surprised even the most attentive observers. It was not an evolution of the previous shakedown car, but a different, aggressive concept, clearly aligned with Adrian Newey’s influence.
Alonso had already sent a message hours earlier, calling for calm and emphasizing the work ahead, but the car speaks for itself. The AMR-26 features extreme solutions in suspension, floor, and sidepods, moving away from the more conservative paths chosen by other teams. In Formula 1, being different always carries risk, but it also opens the door to major performance gains.
The driver tasked with debuting the car was Lance Stroll, who completed four laps with a 1:46.4 time. The lap time had no sporting relevance, as the goal was to verify functionality and reliability. The Canadian confirmed that the car responded as expected, although he ended the day stopped after Turn 10 right at the close of running, a minor detail within an otherwise successful debut.
While Aston Martin grabbed the headlines, Mercedes once again made it clear that it has a very solid base. George Russell was the fastest of the day and Andrea Kimi Antonelli logged a heavy workload. Between the two, they completed 167 laps, showing one-lap pace, long runs, and overall consistency with the W17.
Ferrari also logged significant mileage with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, both surpassing 80 laps. The Brit spun on a cold track but was satisfied with the car’s behavior, while Leclerc was the best non-Mercedes driver on the timing sheets.
McLaren, Red Bull, and the rest continue working with lower exposure. In this context, Aston Martin chose to show its hand and stake its claim. The AMR-26 did not go unnoticed and made it clear that the team heads into 2026 with real ambition, its own ideas, and the intention of putting Alonso back into a major fight.