F1 pundit Karun Chandhok has shared an update on the atmosphere at Aston Martin, highlighting that ‘everyone’ at the struggling Silverstone-based constructor is ‘deflated and depressed’.
It’s been a rough stretch for Aston Martin fans. Hopes were sky-high with Adrian Newey in charge heading into the season, but the team has fallen well short of expectations, unable to field a car capable of scoring points.
Their Honda power unit has been identified as the main problem within the AMR26 package. Early in the season, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll even faced concerns over potential nerve damage caused by severe vibrations from the engine.
After Honda’s home race in Suzuka, one of Aston Martin’s AMR26s stayed behind in Japan for further testing at Honda’s Sakura base. The focus was on addressing the vibration problem, but it came at the expense of putting resources into chassis development.
Karun Chandhok says ‘everyone’ at Aston Martin looks ‘depressed’
Speaking on The F1 Show, pundit Karun Chandhok mentioned the ‘deflated’ mood inside Aston Martin amid their ongoing struggles with the AMR26 this season.
The former Lotus driver started by pointing out the length of the FIA document that lists all the upgrades each team brings to a race weekend.
With almost every team introducing a host of changes for their 2026 cars in Miami, the document stretched over 24 pages. But Aston Martin’s page was completely empty.
“There were 11 individual upgrades [for Ferrari]. Every single team had various bits and pieces. We scrolled down, and the Aston page said nothing,” Chandhok told his co-hosts.
“There were no upgrades on the car, on the chassis. We know that they had the full car at Sakura in Japan after Suzuka to try to understand the vibration issue, but we didn’t really get a clear answer as to how much has been resolved.
“I think the drivers are saying that the tingling feelings, at least, are better, so progress is being made. But at the end of the day, Lance Stroll was still five seconds behind Checo in that race. And with all due respect to Cadillac, they’re a brand-new team.”
This season was supposed to be when Aston moved from midfield contenders to top-five regulars. But it’s been hard going so far, even though everyone inside is working flat out.
“Everyone just looks deflated. Anyone I speak to in green just looks depressed and deflated, and it’s a long old year for them already.”
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have contrasting views on AMR26 vibration issue
During F1’s five-week break, Aston Martin and Honda focused on addressing the vibration issues linked to the 2026 power unit, leading many to expect a resolution by the time racing resumed in Miami.
Alonso said after qualifying that he felt the car was fine. However, Stroll didn’t fully agree. He mentioned there were fewer vibrations but pointed out that they hadn’t disappeared entirely.
Despite these issues, former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Aston Martin will still find its way back up the grid with Honda power.
Steiner pointed to Honda’s extensive history in Formula 1 as evidence that they can overcome their early struggles this season and build a successful partnership with Newey’s chassis design.
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