Brundle poses key Aston Martin question as Barcelona test analysed – roundup
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle is on friendly terms with Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey
Saturday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Martin Brundle airing reservations over the Aston Martin AMR26 after a conversation with team boss Adrian Newey.
Let’s fly through the day’s top stories at the speed of light…
Martin Brundle: Adrian Newey told me Honda playing ‘catch up’ in F1 2026
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle says Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey has told him that Honda is “having to play catch up” in F1 2026.
It comes after Koji Watanabe, the president of the Honda Racing Corporation, recently admitted that “not everything is going well” with the development of the manufacturer’s new engine.
Honda is effectively returning to F1 this year after officially withdrawing at the end of 2021. The Aston Martin AMR26 made its on-track debut at this week’s pre-season shakedown in Barcelona.
Read more: Adrian Newey and Aston Martin AMR26 question marks raised after Brundle conversation
Conclusions from the F1 2026 shakedown in Barcelona
The first pre-season test of F1 2026 concluded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
After months of hype, the first official on-track running of 2026 took place this week with all but one team, Williams, on the track.
In the spirit of our post-race conclusions articles, here’s what we learned from the first five days of testing.
Read more: Shakedown conclusions: Mercedes back in the light, Red Bull finds peace, key Newey question
Winners and losers from Barcelona
The winners-and-losers format became a fixture of our post-race coverage in the closing races of last season.
The first test of 2026 offered the chance to identify some early winners with Mercedes seemingly living up to its billing as pre-season favourites.
PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher picked out who’s hot and who’s not after the first test.
Read more: Winners and losers from the Barcelona private test
In numbers: The stats from the Barcelona shakedown
In a sign of Mercedes’ strength, the Silver Arrows topped the lap counts for both teams and engine manufacturers at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week.
Mercedes was the only team to break the 500-lap barrier in Spain, with Mercedes engines completing a total of 1136 laps.
PlanetF1.com’s Michelle Foster crunched the numbers.
Read more: F1 results: Unofficial numbers from the Barcelona shakedown
Experienced engineers like Adrian Newey ‘so much more valuable’ in modern F1
Experienced engineers like Adrian Newey are “so much more valuable” in the era of limited development time in F1.
That is the claim of former Toyota, Williams and Caterham engineer Dr Sammy Diasinos, who has told PlanetF1.com that the likes of Newey can offer a clear direction to their teams.
Newey is the most successful individual in F1 history having played a role in more than 200 race wins and a combined 26 drivers’ and constructors’ title triumphs.
Read more: Why Adrian Newey is more valuable than ever in F1 2026
