Aston Martin to halt AMR26 development after Baku Grand Prix

Aston Martin will end development of its AMR26 Formula 1 car after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku and switch its focus to the 2027 season.

According to Spanish publication Car and Driver, the Baku race will be the final round at which the team introduces new components for the current car. The final upgrade will focus on reducing its weight.

Aston Martin struggled with the AMR26 during the first half of the 2026 season and concluded that regular small upgrades would not resolve the car's underlying problems.

Instead, the team paused its development programme and spent several months working on a major upgrade package. The changes were introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix, effectively creating a "B" version of the AMR26.

The upgrade produced some progress, particularly in race pace and tyre management, but was not enough to make Aston Martin a regular contender in the later stages of qualifying.

Fernando Alonso has taken the updated car through the first qualifying segment only once, although he has scored points in races.

Aston Martin plans to complete its weight-reduction programme by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix before ending further development of the AMR26.

The team is also continuing to work with Honda to address problems that emerged early in the season, with the aim of having a more competitive power unit for the start of the 2027 campaign.

By Aghakazim Guliyev