Aston Martin opens extra cooling vents on extreme AMR26 as Honda engine issues emerge

After arriving late to F1's shakedown, Aston Martin experienced a difficult start to the official test in Bahrain as well, as problems with the Honda Power Unit forced an engine change and a cooling rethink

This is not the start Aston Martin had hoped for in the 2026 Formula 1 season. After falling behind in the Barcelona shakedown, the team was expected to recover the mileage and valuable time lost in Spain due to issues with assembling the car. However, the first day in Sakhir did not go smoothly and the Silverstone-based team had to give up a large part of the session due to technical problems with the Honda power unit.

The Japanese engineers tried to resolve the issues during the lunch break after identifying some anomalies in the data, in an attempt to continue the data-gathering programme without losing further time. However, after thoroughly analysing the situation, it became necessary in the afternoon to replace the power unit, with the AMR26 consequently remaining in the garage for a long time.

This setback inevitably slowed down the on-track work: Lance Stroll ended the day with just 36 laps, a reduced total compared to many other teams that were able to run more consistently. However, beyond the mere lap count, there are other elements worth noting at Aston Martin – starting with the work programme, which seems to closely mirror what was already seen in Barcelona.

La versione senza branchie vista in mattinata

The version without gills seen in the morning

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

In Bahrain, the Silverstone team continued with a “limited” run programme, with Stroll never exceeding 300 km/h on the main straight. While maintaining a capped top speed allows for more linear data collection, it also reduces stress on the power unit, which in that section remained below 11,000 rpm for a long time - while other teams pushed well beyond that.

Regarding the power unit, modifications were also seen on the AMR26 in terms of cooling, with additional vents opened after the engine issues were identified. Although it is true that the Japanese PU currently appears behind schedule, it is also true that the AMR26 features very extreme bodywork shapes – and, realistically, the team needs to allow the Honda unit to breathe under the engine cover.

The sidepods housing the radiators were designed to be as slim as possible, and the airflow from the triangular-shaped airbox is more limited compared to that adopted by other teams, with the bodywork along the engine cover shaped to be as tapered as possible. For this reason, a rather pronounced bulge can be seen – more evident than on rival cars – through which hot air is expelled.

It is in that area that Aston Martin further opened the vents during the first day, introducing a series of additional gills to aid heat dissipation, even at the cost of sacrificing aerodynamic efficiency.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

However, this is not the only solution adopted to evacuate hot air. For aerodynamic reasons, the rear exit is not as generous as on other single-seaters, which is why Aston Martin worked on several areas, also revisiting some ideas previously seen on Red Bull cars.

For example, in the lower section, toward the rear end of the sidepods, there is an opening on the sides of the tail that recalls the concept seen on the RB20.

After resolving the issues, Fernando Alonso returned to the track today with the aim of racking up mileage and collecting data – more than Aston Martin had managed to do in the previous days.

Over the morning running on the second day of the Bahrain test, the Spaniard racked up 55 laps of the Sakhir circuit and logged a best time of 1m38.960s – some four seconds off the pace set by Charles Leclerc. However, his lap count was comparable and just nine shy of the benchmark set by McLaren.