What's going wrong for Aston Martin at Bahrain testing
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack has said the AMR26 has “a lot of little problems” in all areas as the team endured another tough testing day in Bahrain.
On Wednesday morning, Fernando Alonso encountered engine issues that limited his running to just 28 laps across the first four hours, while teammate Lance Stroll brought out the red flags after a dramatic spin into the gravel at Turn 11 in the afternoon.
Stroll appeared to lose drive when downshifting into the corner under braking, with his AMR26 having to be removed by a recovery crane under red flag conditions.
"We were late to the party," says Krack
Speaking to GPblog and other media prior to the afternoon session, Krack explained Aston’s raft of issues, highlighting the team’s lateness to the Barcelona shakedown as a key factor.
“Well I think in the first place we have to acknowledge that we were late to the party. We saw it in Barcelona. It was good we went to Barcelona, but we were not really ready,” Krack said.
“You have a lot of little problems that prevent you from running. They are in all areas of the car, we also have electronics, we have new partners, we have the gearbox, we have the suspension.
“It is difficult to isolate one single area, that would be the easiest, because if you have just one item to fix, then you can put all your efforts on that.”
It comes as no surprise, then, that the Aston Martin chief has tempered expectations heading into 2026, with the team having completed only 206 laps during Test 1.
“I said it earlier, if you do not accumulate the laps, and I think we have three times less laps than some of the best competitors, that puts you behind.
“And you need to be realistic about it, and then you need to catch up. There's no other way. But they're not waiting for us. So we need to really do our best to not lose touch.”
Verstappen serves up a positive spin despite nightmare start for Red Bull teammate Hadjar
Aston Martin were not the only team with reliability issues on Wednesday, as Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completed the least laps out of anyone during the morning session due to a water leak issue on the RB22.
Max Verstappen, however, decided to focus on the positives when speaking to GPblog and other media this afternoon.
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