– Expert Ralf Schumacher has doubts after the test drives before the 2026 Formula 1 season in Bahrain whether Aston Martin currently has a package that can even make it to the finish line in the first races of the year. In Sakhir, the racing team drove fewer kilometers than any other team.
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“This is a big disaster,” says Schumacher in the podcast Backstage Boxengasse from Sky. “Everything is coming together,” says the six-time Grand Prix winner, who says about the current situation at Aston Martin: “The car is not good and the engine is bad.”
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“It could hardly be worse,” says Schumacher, after the racing team completed just 334 laps in the two test weeks in Bahrain. For comparison: Formula 1 newcomer Cadillac, as the team with the second fewest laps, completed 586 laps – still 252 more than Aston Martin.
The negative highlight was the last test day, on which Lance Stroll was only able to drive six laps because engine partner Honda ran out of spare parts. Schumacher therefore asks himself the question “whether one can even finish the races at the beginning.”
Because Aston Martin was repeatedly stopped by problems during the tests, one must now wait and see whether these can be fixed “in this short time” before the season opener, emphasizes Schumacher, who sees Honda as primarily responsible here.
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“They were the ones who wanted the electric part [of the engine], which they are now having the most problems with,” he says towards the Japanese. “The question is: Can this be repaired with the existing concept or do you have to think completely anew?” says Schumacher.
For many fans, memories of Honda’s Formula 1 return in 2015 with McLaren are already being awakened. Back then, Kevin Magnussen didn’t even make it onto the starting grid at the season opener in Australia, while teammate Jenson Button saw the checkered flag at the end two laps down.
Should Aston Martin experience a similar debacle, Schumacher warns: “You have to stay calm now, because otherwise such a team will break apart.” Fernando Alonso is “mega frustrated,” and new team boss Adrian Newey is also “very, very disappointed,” Schumacher believes.
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“There’s quite a lot of pressure in the boiler,” he says, emphasizing that the team must now be “given time” to get the situation under control. “And of course you have to make sure they don’t tear each other apart now. It’s a great test of patience,” says Schumacher.
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