Formula 1 is in its summer break, and BBC Sport's Andrew Benson has addressed reader questions about why Aston Martin has not yet shown the full benefit of hiring star designer Adrian Newey, despite a promising new car introduced in Hungary. He explains that regulatory timing and internal delays meant Newey could not start reshaping the car until well after new 2026 rules were published, while Honda's engine also turned out to be significantly behind rivals, meaning genuine progress has only just begun.

Newey officially joined Aston Martin on 2 March, two months after the 2026 aero rules were published, and immediately told the team to scrap existing work and follow his new design outline, while the wind tunnel was not ready until mid-April, leaving them nearly four months behind competitors. Honda's engine was also found to be well off the pace as of last November. The revised car debuted in Hungary, reportedly cutting lap times by about two seconds, with a first Honda engine upgrade due at the Dutch Grand Prix; however, a fully Newey-led design is not expected until 2027. The Q&A also covers driver preparation for the newly added Malaysian Grand Prix, noting the main challenge is adjusting to local time zones between races in Azerbaijan and Singapore.