Aston Martin Formula 1 Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa believes the approach of being transparent with its 2026 struggles has helped the team ‘surf the wave’ of its challenging season.
Aston seismic problems across the 2026 season has been well-documented, the bar of expectation being lowered after pre-season testing when the AMR26’s problems were laid bare.
In the time since, the Silverstone-based squad‘s ongoing work with the car, as well as engine manufacturer Honda’s continuing improvements to its underpowered engine, has seen lap times lowered, and despite still being towards the back of the grid, the package is now far stronger than its early-season baseline.
Honesty ‘the only way of improving’ Aston Martin
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Motorsport Week, de la Rosa, was asked how personally responsible he has felt, in his role, to help morale stay high
“Yeah, it hasn’t been easy,” the former Arrows, Jaguar and McLaren F1 driver said. “It’s very easy when you have only good news to bring, and when the team is doing well, when you’re fighting for volumes and wins. It’s quite difficult when things go the other way.
“And it’s been especially difficult this season because things didn’t go our way. It’s not correct. We were not expecting to be where we started that far back. And therefore, it’s much more difficult to send that positive message, especially if you’re not working within the organisation.”
De la Rosa continued that Lance Stroll’s up-front summary of the situation in Bahrain was the right way to approach matters,
“So explaining to the outside world that we knew what was going on and that they had to remain calm was very difficult. It’s always challenging. It’s always difficult – and I was there! But it would be a lot more difficult if you were not sure that you could turn it around.
“In a way, we’ve surfed the wave pretty well, [by] being completely honest, very transparent, explaining from the very first test in Bahrain.
“Remember the pre-season test? When Lance already said we are far on engine, on chassis, on everything. He was really blunt. But I think that’s the only way of improving.
“Just explaining to the world our challenges ahead. It was not going to be easy. We took measures to come back stronger. Not as strong as we would like, but stronger. And we’re still working on that.”
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