Mansell slams Aston Martin: “Their crisis was a shock, Honda was naive”

Shock crisis The American weekend in Miami, which arrived after more than a month of stoppage, did not bring good news to Aston Martin. The Silverstone team showed up in Florida without any updates to the disastrous AMR26, unlike what was done by almost the rest of the grid, which instead proposed many technical innovations. The technical crisis of the team owned by Lawrence Stroll – who on the eve of this year was considered a possible favorite for the top positions – has instead caused the team to fall to the bottom of the group, battling with the debutant Cadillac. Perhaps the most suitable comment to define this situation was provided by former driver and 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell, interviewed by the website AceOdds.com. The British champion defined the crisis in which Aston Martin found itself as “a shock”, pointing the finger both at the Silverstone team and at the Japanese Honda, judged “naive” in the way in which they dealt with this enormous regulatory revolution. Mansell’s analysis “I think the whole racing world is in shock; I mean, let’s be clear, everyone thought, including myself, that Aston Martin would be one of the leaders this year,” Mansell noted, “and then to have – I say this literally and I think the word is quite correct to use – the catastrophic challenges that they are facing and to feel the kind of things that the drivers are forced to undergo like the vibrations, the possible nerve damage and everything else is almost unheard of.” and it’s worrying. I really hope for them that they can overcome some of these difficulties quickly, but from what I understand, it won’t be quick.” “Honda and Aston Martin naive? Yes, I think it’s a bit naive for an engine manufacturer to believe they can come into the game about a year later than everyone else and think they can be competitive,” the former Williams legend noted, “from what I’ve been told many of the previous engineers have been assigned to different projects, because they started late with this new project and then they’ve started again with a completely new team and it’s going to be very difficult for them. But if they have the necessary tenacity and patience, there they will. In the meantime it is a disappointment and, as a great racing fan, I am very sorry and very disappointed for them and for the fans to see the difficulties they are facing.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-08 16:00:00