Aston Martin have confirmed they will miss at least one of their allowed three days of Formula 1 pre-season testing. The news comes amid speculation that the Silverstone-based team has experienced delays with the development of its new car for the 2026 season, and after rivals Williams confirmed they will miss the week-long shakedown in Barcelona entirely.
The first batch of pre-season testing began in damp conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Regardless, most teams wasted little time before heading out on track, Mercedes becoming the first to begin shaking down their new car narrowly ahead of German rivals Audi and new engine customers Alpine, while Red Bull made a fast start to top the timesheets at the end of the morning’s running.
Teams are allowed to run a car on three of the five days for which the Spanish Grand Prix circuit has been rented out by F1 this week, and have the choice of which days they would like to choose. In total, seven of F1’s 11 teams opted to get straight on with it when the pit lane opened on Monday morning.