Aston Martin Hits Roadblocks On And Off Track

Both on and off the track, Aston Martin’s green brigade is sweating.

The team’s rolling with last year’s car for 2025, banking on 2026’s new regs as the real prize. Fernando Alonso laid it bare to Spanish reporters as Bahrain testing closed: “If you are fighting for the world championship in 2025, it is a different story. 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.” Bahrain’s results stung—sparse laps, weak one-lap zip, and shaky long-run pace signal a slog ahead.

Team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa didn’t sugarcoat it to Marca: “I think there were some positive comments from our drivers, 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-track, it’s a bigger snarl. Adrian Newey punched in at Silverstone Monday—golden news—but new chief technical officer Enrico Cardile’s stuck in Ferrari’s gardening leave trap. Corriere dello Sport spilled the dirt: “The gardening leave agreement was in place, 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.” Stroll’s fuming—Cardile’s pegged to blueprint the 2026 beast, and Ferrari’s holding him hostage ‘til midseason.