Unraveling Aston Martin's F1 Challenges On and Off the Track
Mar.3 - Both on and off the track, there are some glum faces in green uniforms at Aston Martin.
The team has used the basis of last year's car for 2025, with Fernando Alonso openly admitting that the results of the 24 looming grands prix are much less important than the all-new 2026 project.
"If you are fighting for the world championship in 2025, it is a different story," he told Spanish reporters as the Bahrain test ended.
"But if you are not, I think it doesn't change too much to be in an up and down situation. Because if that costs you something for 2026, it will be very painful."
The bad news for Aston Martin is that the Bahrain test did not go very well - both in terms of the number of laps completed, or the one-lap or long-run pace.
"I think there were some positive comments from our drivers," team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa told Marca sports newspaper, "but they also said there were areas where we needed to improve.
"Am I optimistic? I prefer to say that I am realistic and I think it's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of digging to improve. I would like to see results this year, but we have to face reality, don't you agree?"
Off the track, there are also problems at Aston Martin - even if the very bright side is that Adrian Newey finally got started at Silverstone HQ on Monday.
However, the arrival of new chief technical officer Enrico Cardile was actually scheduled for March 3 as well - but Ferrari is holding up the move by now by insisting Cardile spends more time on 'gardening leave'.
"The gardening leave agreement was in place," claims Corriere dello Sport newspaper, "but in the last month everything has gone haywire again.
"We understand that Cardile's arrival alongside Newey is unlikely before July 17 - a year after Ferrari announced his departure. And the owner Lawrence Stroll is furious.
"The green team had done its technical reorganisation specifying that Cardile will oversee the architecture, design and construction of the new car. A crucial figure, therefore, is blocked at a crucial moment," the Italian report added.
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