Aston Martin ‘not where we want to be’ – De la Rosa

Aston Martin has admitted to a difficult pre-season, with team representative Pedro de la Rosa stating they are "not where they want to be" ahead of the 2026 campaign. Reliability issues, including battery problems on Fernando Alonso's car, have severely limited their mileage and data collection during Bahrain testing. Honda is investigating the battery issues, leading to further restrictions on track time due to a shortage of parts. De la Rosa acknowledged Aston Martin had the fewest laps in testing but emphasized the team is working "flat-out" to understand the new Honda-powered AMR26 and prepare for the season opener, despite anticipating a challenging start.