Aston Martin AMR26 debut ends early due to precautionary concern

The Aston Martin AMR26’s track debut came to an end after five laps, as a technical issue forced a precautionary stop on the circuit.

The penultimate day of the Barcelona test saw the long-awaited Aston Martin debut, with Adrian Newey’s eagerly anticipated creation taking its first steps on track.

Aston Martin testing debut ends prematurely

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Having confirmed a late start to its F1 2026 testing programme as Adrian Newey prioritised development of the new car right until the last possible moment, Aston Martin kicked off its pre-season on Thursday as the AMR26 headed out for an installation lap with an hour remaining of the day.

With Lance Stroll behind the wheel, this short installation run was the first time the entire chassis and power unit had been mated, as the team had not managed to get in a filming day or demonstration day ahead of the shakedown week in Barcelona.

With 16 minutes remaining in the session, Stroll reappeared on track for a short sequence of laps, all of which were completed at a sedate pace as the Canadian’s fastest tour turned out to be circa 30 seconds off the time set by the pace-setting George Russell in the Mercedes.

Aston Martin’s short foray at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya came to a premature end when Stroll pulled over and stopped in the third sector.

While initially appearing to be a technical breakdown, PlanetF1.com understands that the stop was precautionary, with nothing having broken on the car.

It’s been suggested that an electrical issue, perhaps related to the Honda PU’s communication with the car, was spotted by the track marshals by way of the car’s LED lights, with Stroll being signalled to stop as a result.

Aston Martin mechanics wearing high-voltage gloves attended the scene of the recovery of the AMR26 as the marshals lifted it onto a flatbed truck before bringing it back to the pits.

The team is set to take part in the final day of the shakedown on Friday, with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of the AMR26.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: McLaren sets out Barcelona and Bahrain test plans with ‘no nasties’ found