Pre‑season testing began at the Circuit de Barcelona‑Catalunya this week under an expanded five‑day program that lets teams run on three days and restricts media access. Several teams elected to skip sessions: Aston Martin delayed the AMR26’s planned debut and missed the opening two days (first running not expected until mid‑week at the earliest), Williams will skip the entire Barcelona test and McLaren will miss the opening day, leaving multiple garages empty and Aston Martin potentially forfeiting some or all of its three allotted running days.

Aston Martin blamed technical and development hold‑ups — engineers were still finalizing the Adrian Newey–designed AMR26 and finding it hard to translate extreme aerodynamic concepts into a completed chassis. The team’s switch to Honda as its works power‑unit supplier added pressure after Honda admitted “problems” with its new 2026 unit, citing integration and packaging challenges. Broader 2026 rule changes — a smaller, lighter chassis, an approximately 50/50 electric/combustion power split and a reduced minimum weight target of 768 kg — have also complicated efforts to meet design and weight targets. The delay is especially sensitive given substantial investment in a new campus and Newey’s arrival.

Missing early running reduces Aston Martin’s opportunity for setup work, mileage and data collection and limits driver acclimation for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll ahead of the Bahrain test windows on Feb. 11–13 and Feb. 18–20. The late start could compress development and comparative data gathering in a pre‑season that prioritizes reliability, particularly as manufacturers such as Audi and Honda try to maximize limited on‑track time. Ferrari is focused on establishing a reliable reference car and accumulating mileage to avoid repeating 2025 problems, while Alpine and other teams are prioritizing clean, incident‑free running. Reports say Aston Martin could attempt to run later in the Barcelona window or concentrate on the Bahrain sessions to make up lost mileage.

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