Martin Brundle casts grim verdict on Aston Martin's F1 2026 “horror show”

Martin Brundle has claimed that Aston Martin’s “horror show” won’t improve until the 2027 Formula 1 season at the earliest.

Aston Martin is anchored to the very bottom of the constructors’ world championship after three rounds following a nightmare start to the 2026 F1 season.

The Silverstone-based team is beset by a myriad of problems with its chassis and Honda’s power unit and has a huge deficit to the front of the grid.

Aston Martin was able to complete a grand prix distance for the first time at the Japanese Grand Prix as two-time world champion Fernando Alonso came home a lap down in 18th place.

Team-mate Lance Stroll branded his battle with Alonso prior to retiring on lap 30 due to a water pressure issue as having their “own Aston Martin championship”.

Reflecting on Aston Martin’s troubled start to the campaign, Brundle told the Sky Sports F1 Show podcast: "That's painful, isn't it, really? That's sort of salt in the wounds, almost.

"It's a nightmare, whichever way you look at it, they've got neither speed nor reliability. And in the days of relentless Formula 1 championship calendars and cost caps, it's going to be very difficult to turn that around in the time, and they've got to work out what to do first.

"They've got to get the right people in at Honda, get the right direction. It's not going to improve until 2027. It's a horror show, and we're just going to have to observe that pain.

"Of course, they will improve it to an extent, but they're missing three, four seconds sometimes per lap. I mean, that's like a different category they're in at the moment to the front runners. So, watch this space, but it'll be a while.”

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft suggested Aston Martin might not be in a position to introduce a B-spec car until the Belgian Grand Prix in July.

"To get to the end of a race [in Japan] was amazing for them, to be fair, but that's a long-term project,” Croft said.

"That is a long-term project to put right the issues that weren't picked up early enough. And I think people took their eye off the ball a little bit on all sides of that project.

"I'd said Silverstone for a B-spec car, that's more likely to be Spa for a B-spec car. A power unit that will need a lot of work and fine-tuning and will probably come back after the Christmas break better off for it.

"But they are going to struggle all season until the chassis can accommodate the power unit, the power unit can stop vibrating so much.

"Can I see them scoring a point? Not unless 12 other cars retire at the moment. Getting to the finish was great for them but, as [chief trackside officer] Mike Krack said, it's hardly a cause for celebration."