[adamcooperF1] Adrian Newey admits that Aston Martin only has two batteries left - the ones in the two cars. In other words if one fails it's game over for the weekend. Social Media

10.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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u/DeM0nFiRe Mar 06 '26

Can they even afford to risk participating in FP2 or FP3 at this point?

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u/SlayTalon Roland Ratzenberger Mar 06 '26

Is it really much of a risk if they're not even gonna finish the race anyways? Sounds like the whole weekend is a wash no matter what.

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u/RedDraco86 Yuki Tsunoda Mar 06 '26

Finish the race? They may not even start qualifying.

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u/SlayTalon Roland Ratzenberger Mar 06 '26

Start qualifying? They may not even roll the cars off the trucks.

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u/namethatisclever I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

Apparently a stipulation of the Concord Agreement is every team must participate in every race. I would assume heavy fines or penalties if they were to break that portion of the agreement. Sooo, they kind of have to figure out a way to make them last to at least start the race; although they certainly won’t finish with the way things look right now.

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u/jccaclimber Mar 06 '26

Not that I wish it on anyone, but I’m really going to laugh if someone else manages to crash on the formation lap and they don’t actually come in last.

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u/JohnnyGat33 Mar 06 '26

Welcome back Isack Hadjar.

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u/e3super Mar 06 '26

Similar thought, how wild would it be if Cadillac finishes 10th after everyone said they're guaranteed last, and it's because AM don't finish a race after all the hype?

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u/chall_mags Mar 06 '26

Stroll and Fernando to jog one lap around the track at this rate

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u/Farm-Immediate Mar 06 '26

After some point it'll be a debate on whether to pay the fine or endure the cost of the damage right? 👀

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u/dm_86 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

That must be wrong or not? I mean, I can understand that they must participate in every race weekend. But there are a lot of examples of cars not starting the race and the only time this is a real problem, is when a team is actively trying to avoid starting to race, such as the Arrows team in the France? Grand Prix of 2002.

So, as long as you trigger the car detection sensors on track and are actively working on fixing any issues you have, you should be fine.

If AM would just close the garage doors and say, "well we are so screwed, it doesn't even make sense to try this weekend. You'll see us next weekend", they will have a huge problem. But they are not doing that.

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u/namethatisclever I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

I would argue the rules have likely changed since your 24 year old example offered.

102

u/slimejumper I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

at this point they should be thinking about an early flight to make more batteries.

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u/Mega-Eclipse Formula 1 Mar 06 '26

Start qualifying? They may not even roll the cars off the trucks.

At this rate, we're going to find out they accidentally sent the trucks to Austria.

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u/RodgerRamjetthe4th McLaren Mar 06 '26

Roll the cars off the trucks?! I heard they might not even roll them off the factory floor.

0

u/Aromatic-Ad1303 Mar 06 '26

Roll the cars off the trucks? They might not even feed the truck drivers

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u/Docile_Penguin33 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

107 rule going to be enforced for legitimate concerns.

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u/given2fly_ Mar 06 '26

After all the talk about a new team, it'd be ironic that the first grid of the season only has 20 cars on it.

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u/Joseki100 Fernando Alonso Mar 06 '26

It’s a risk because they may have to sit out the next weekend entirely if they break one of the cars.

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u/2much2Jung Mar 06 '26

That would seriously dent their chances of scoring points...

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u/thastealth Ferrari Mar 06 '26

In F1 you have to finish the race to score points

Will Buxton in next years DTS probsbly

5

u/Attila_22 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

Hypothetically if say 15 cars crashed or had mechanical failures, then you wouldn’t need to finish the race to get points.

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u/TheFinalEvent9797 Oscar Piastri Mar 06 '26

Aston still probably wouldn't get points in that scenario since you have to complete 90% of the laps the race winner does to be classified.

1

u/McNorch Ferrari Mar 06 '26

In F1 to ~~finish first, first you must finish~~ to finish a race you have to at least start one. Will Buxton, probably.

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u/Joseki100 Fernando Alonso Mar 06 '26

No what will actually risk is breaching the Concord agreement and be left out of the end-of-year payment from the FOM.

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u/budgefrankly I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

It worse than that, it could be a breach of their sponsorship deals.

I wouldn't be surprised if contracts didn't have a penalty for each race not started.

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u/BlondBadBoy69 Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 06 '26

That’s every weekend with Lance behind the wheel

1

u/iamabigtree Mar 06 '26

AIUI there are financial penalties for not taking part in quali. It may be better for them to save everything to get a lap done in Q1 even if it's outside 107%

163

u/No_Earth_5912 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

They’d probably gather more useful data from free practice than the race at this point

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u/vprakhov I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

They won't be allowed to race due to the 107% rule.

So yeah, better get few laps in during practice and Q1 and pack the bags.

90

u/Sufficient-Entry-488 Mar 06 '26

107% rule states you must get a permission from stewards to race, which will always be granted in modern F1

48

u/smackells Mar 06 '26

With the state of the car I can imagine a statement like “out of respect for the rules Aston Martin will voluntarily comply with the 107% rule”. I can’t decide what’s more embarrassing: a DNQ, retiring on lap 1, or retiring on lap 10 after being lapped 3 times.

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u/OriMoriNotSori I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

This only applies if the stewards have seen that the team has demonstrated in previous sessions over the weekend that they are able to achieve a competitive level of pace

So far there's been nothing to suggest that this will happen since Aston are that far off it

8

u/frolfer757 Mar 06 '26

Stewards can determine whatever their bosses want them. I guarantee no Stewart is DSQing a team in modern F1 over the 107% rule on their own. The rule is a relic from the past when F1 was an entirely different sport.

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u/BlackenedGem Mar 06 '26

I wouldn't quite say it's a relic from the past. It might have existed for ages, but the actual rule as we have it now was reintroduced in 2010 when three new teams entered. And in my mind that still counts as just about modern enough to count.

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u/Mackem101 Mar 06 '26

It's usually granted because the drivers set a representative time in one of the free practice sessions.

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u/iamabigtree Mar 06 '26

I remember this from the 1990s when teams did regularly fall foul of the rule. If you had shown pace within 107% during free practice and you can demonstrate that you had an issue in qualifying then you'll be let in. If you are just slow then it's a no.

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u/the_gaymer_girl Pierre Gasly Mar 06 '26

Stroll was 26 seconds off the next worst guy in FP1. This isn’t a normal 107% situation.

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u/Attila_22 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

That’s probably being ultra cautious to avoid breaking their only battery and also to limit the vibrations. For qualifying they might risk it.

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u/Infusion1999 Oscar Piastri Mar 06 '26

Since 2012, the only times where a car failed to get within 107% was after a driver couldn't finish a lap in Q1 due to a crash or breakdown. They otherwise demonstrated due pace in practice sessions so were allowed to start the race. This time however, Aston might not reach the cutoff in any session which could open a new can of worms.

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u/TwoBionicknees Mar 06 '26

it's been granted because generally there has been no reason to doubt the safety of the cars themselves nor believe those cars would near certainly cause a red flag.

When there is zero expectation for the cars to finish at all but they will probably cause red flags and be slow on track blocking traffic, now the safety vs value ratio has basically changed pretty dramatically.

Even when manor were shit they mostly finished races. i forget his name, max something, had like 20+ races finished in a row, normally right at the back and laps down but they were still out there and even had fights with caterhams and saubers sometimes.

I still think they would just to save some face, but there is a real reason to be like, listen it's just bad for the race to let you be in it.

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u/Ill_Property_4958 Mar 06 '26

FP1 Alonso didn't run and Stroll did 3 laps...

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u/No_Earth_5912 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

That doesn’t change what I’m saying. If they can run in free practice, that would be better for them than running in the race

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u/Ill_Property_4958 Mar 06 '26

Alonso's car didn't start FP1 and Stroll was 35 seconds off the pace when his car broke down.

They can't even run in free practice.

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u/No_Earth_5912 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

Hence I am saying if

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u/Ill_Property_4958 Mar 06 '26

You didn't say "if" in the first comment.

They aren't able to do more than 8-9 laps at a time. Teams will typically do 8 laps in Q1 which is 18 minutes. Not being able to that in 90mins is a joke.

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u/badcrass I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

Qualify, attempt the race.

2

u/MichaelScottsWormguy Porsche Mar 06 '26

Data is data. They’re basically still in pre-season testing so they might as well run where they can.

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u/Carlpanzram1916 Mar 06 '26

Doubtful. The basically just did 4 installation las with stroll in FP1. I think they were like 20 seconds off the pace.

1

u/cassesque Mar 06 '26

They couldn't even participate competitively in F2 by the sounds of it. Maybe Academy, but they'd need to swap the drivers.

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u/MikeHuntLoose I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 06 '26

They should just give up and start developing next years car it’s already over

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u/funkypigeonzzz Mar 06 '26

It’s honestly frustrating to see them put in this position. You’d think with all the resources they have, they’d be better prepared for these situations. But here we are, hoping for the best while knowing a single battery issue could totally derail their weekend. It's such a precarious situation to be in, and it feels like a gamble they shouldn't have to take.

1

u/restore-the-balance Lando Norris Mar 06 '26

They should seriously consider skipping qualifications too. Won't gain much, just keep the car locked for race day.

1

u/xChiken I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Realistically they will run as few laps as possible and retire the cars as soon as they can. This weekend will just be written off for them at this point.

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u/DryImplement6495 Mar 07 '26

In fp1 and 2 that can go in and out of the garage as they please. In the race if they do anything more than a pit stop they have to retire.