Fernando Alonso is satisfied after his first proper test day in the AMR26. The Spaniard took the wheel of his team’s 2026 car for the first time during the final day of the shakedown in Barcelona. But it wasn’t only rival teams eyeing the British outfit’s Newey-designed machine as Alonso completed 61 laps. “Everyone in the team is watching him too,” revealed the two‑time world champion.
Aston Martin were the last squad to arrive in Barcelona — of those using the season’s opening shakedown — but that did nothing to ease the buzz around the long‑awaited AMR26 debut on Thursday. The team had already said it would use only two of the three permitted days at the Circuit de Barcelona‑Catalunya, and on Thursday Lance Stroll managed just five laps in the AMR26.
Fernando Alonso, however, went a long way to correcting things on Friday — the final test day — by turning in 61 laps. The Spaniard was therefore very satisfied after his first kilometres in the new car. “I was definitely keen to get back in the car after the winter. For us it was the first real day,” the Spaniard told the assembled media. “I know some teams held filming days in early January as shakedowns and then spent the whole week here in Barcelona, but for us it was truly the very first day. More than sixty laps and the car responds well, so the first day is behind us and there are more to come.”
Newey
Still, Aston Martin’s late arrival in Barcelona wasn’t entirely unexpected. The AMR26 is the British squad’s first car designed by Adrian Newey. The British chief designer is known for driving the development of a new car right up to the final moments. “I think everyone is super-motivated when we (Newey, ed.) see him in the garage while he’s ironing out all the details,” Alonso said. “I look at the mechanics, their faces — everyone’s watching him, trying to pick up something he may have said about the car or something he wants to improve. He always teaches us something.”
