Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin driver says team boss Adrian Newey gives him confidence he will eventually have 'the best car' in F1 | F1 News

Fernando Alonso has no doubt that Aston Martin will “eventually have the best car” in F1 with Adrian Newey in the team, but says they are initially prepared to be “on the back foot” in the first part of the 2026 season.

Aston Martin made no secret after the first two F1 tests in 2026 that it lacked pace compared to the main teams it hopes to challenge in F1's new era of car and engine rules.

After a late arrival at the Barcelona test, where the new AMR26 completed just 65 laps, Aston Martin completed the fewest laps and set the slowest times at the first Bahrain test last week, while continuing to learn more about its first Newey design, as well as the team's first Honda engine and in-house gearbox.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 What the legendary Newey, who took on the duties of team principal this season in addition to the technical role he assumed upon his arrival last spring, provided, Alonso said: “All the things we need.”

“He's got the experience. He's had better times, tougher times, and I think we clearly have a path forward to get better.

“There are a lot of things we need to unlock. For us, this is really the first test, to be honest, because missing Barcelona wasn't ideal. So we're continuing step by step, unlocking the performance, and we've identified some areas we need to improve.

“We said at the car launch that we would go from maybe a little bit more difficult start to a much better second half of the season, and I still think the same thing. The second half of the season is where we need to be where we want to be.”

Before that, Newey has already promised that the car Aston Martin takes to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8 will be very different from the model they used in early pre-season testing.

“The car in Melbourne is going to be very different,” Alonso confirmed. “I’ve seen some photos, and Adrian also said that at the launch.

“Not only Melbourne, we have a guy who, after more than 30 years in Formula 1, has dominated the sport, so ultimately we will have the best car. It's a question of time, but we want to have it as soon as possible.”

Lance Stroll, Alonso's teammate, said during the first test in Bahrain that Aston Martin was four and a half seconds behind the leader.

And while Alonso says the car, which completed just over 200 laps last week, is performing well, there are clear areas to focus on for improvement.

“I think everything is going well in that regard,” he added.

“Of course we have to integrate a bit of the powertrain and the first ever gearbox for Aston Martin. But I think aerodynamic performance and engine performance will always dominate the lap time, so that's where we need to unlock more performance.”

“We don't know exactly where we are yet. Maybe next week we'll have a clear idea, but right now those are the two areas we're focusing on.”

Sky Sports F1 Bahrain testing schedule

Second test: Wednesday 18, Thursday 19 and Friday 20 February

• 6:50 a.m.-11:05 a.m.: Live morning session
• 11:55 a.m.-4:10 p.m.: Live afternoon session
• 8 p.m.: Test wrap

Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime