Aston Martin has insisted that it remains a “young, growing team” compared to more established names in Formula 1, despite the investment that’s been poured into the side.
The Silverstone-based squad concluded the previous campaign fifth in the Constructors’ Championship again, but a gargantuan 256 points behind Mercedes one position above.
Aston Martin has been touted to be among a contingent of teams that will be striving to capitalise on the upcoming rules change in 2026 to slash the gap to the leading group.
The British marque has committed huge sums in renovating its Silverstone campus and supplemented that with headline recruits such as storied design guru Adrian Newey.
With the AMR25 having now made its on-track debut, Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell has revealed that some departments in the team have turned attention to the 2026 car.
Asked how much attention has been allocated to 2026 to date, Cowell told media including Motorsport Week in Bahrain: “Yeah, that’s a huge topic for all 10 teams.
“For us, there are areas of our business that are already 100% focused on 2026. So concept engineering groups are just focused on 2026 because 2025’s done from their perspective.
“As we go through the year, every single department will do that transition from partially on 2025 to fully on to 2026, with the majority of the engineers that are here, the race team, the last ones to transition across.
“And there are some criteria of wind tunnel activity and CFD activity which are more closely controlled by the FIA where we need to make judgement week by week.”
The conundrum awaiting the F1 grid
The impending reset will pose an added conundrum to the teams in 2025 as each must decide how much resource to invest in the current cars versus the next generation.
Cowell has admitted that how Aston Martin begins the upcoming campaign will have a bearing on when the other groups in the team will be advised to pivot to the AMR26.
Questioned on which extent its initial results will dictate its approach, Cowell added: “I guess, again, that’s the same for all 10 teams, isn’t it?
“You know, if you get a 1-2 in the first race, you’re going to be chasing another 23 of those to try and win the championship.
“And just depending on where you are in the pecking order depends [on] what you do.”
Aston Martin won’t dismiss opportunities to grow
However, Cowell is adamant that Aston Martin’s status as a developing organisation means it can’t neglect the opportunities to evolve that the 2025 campaign will provide.
“But also everybody’s growth is slightly different,” he acknowledged. “Every single team’s in a slightly different position.
“For us, compared with Ferrari, we’re a young growing team.
“Yes, we’ve got a great new factory. We’ve got some great infrastructure. But we’re still learning how to bring all of that together. We’re still dialling that in.
“And it’s important to us that we get the quality of the experiments that we do within that infrastructure to be top draw. And that’s a big focus for us.”
Aston Martin’s big 2026 challenge
Alongside having Newey’s coveted services, Aston Martin will embark on a works engine deal with Honda in 2026, bringing an end to the team’s long partnership with Mercedes.
The decision to cut ties with the German marque has meant that the rear suspension and transmission system on Aston Martin’s 2026 machine will have to be built in-house.
Cowell has highlighted that accomplishing that alongside a considerable rules overhaul will see Aston Martin have an even bigger transition to contend with than its F1 rivals.
“I think our situation for next year, we’re transitioning from being a customer team this year with Mercedes powertrain to a works team with Honda, with Aramco fuels and Valvoline lubricants, and creating our own transmission and rear wishbones and so on,” he explained.
“It is a step up for us. It’s a challenging jobs list in front of us over the next 12 months. We’re striving to do really well at it in every area. But we will continually improve.
“The thing that I’m really trying to emphasise is that we look at every single area of the business and work out what can we do to get better.
“And then when we come up with that jobs list, it’s how can we do that quickly.”
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