Coulthard sees Aston Martin turning corner after 2026 season hits rock bottom

David Coulthard has declared that Aston Martin has hit “rock bottom” in 2026 but is now showing signs of a genuine recovery, comparing the Silverstone outfit’s trajectory to McLaren’s resurgence that produced back-to-back constructors’ championships in 2024 and 2025. The 13-time grand prix winner made the assessment ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin arrived in 2026 carrying significant expectations. A new power unit partnership with Honda and the first car designed under the leadership of Adrian Newey raised hopes of a title challenge. Instead, the team has been mired in car and power unit problems throughout the opening half of the season and currently sits 10th in the constructors’ standings with just three points — all scored by two-time champion Fernando Alonso.

The team’s fortunes began to shift after it introduced a B-spec car at the Hungarian Grand Prix, followed by engine upgrades at the Dutch Grand Prix. It was at Zandvoort that Alonso salvaged a ninth-place finish, a result Coulthard and co-host Naomi Schiff pointed to as evidence of progress.

“There is a momentum change. They’ve hit rock bottom,” Coulthard said. “If we remind ourselves of McLaren, what was it three seasons ago? They were pretty much at their rock bottom, and then they’ve bounced back to being world champions.”

Schiff, a former W Series driver and analyst, offered a more measured take while still acknowledging the forward steps. “It’s a process of evolution at the moment for them,” she said. “Zandvoort, the beginning of the weekend was looking a little like, ‘Oh, I guess we expected a little bit more from this,’ but it was a sprint weekend, so it’s a tough one to bring big upgrades and try to make changes and understand your package.”

Schiff noted that both drivers reported struggles with downshifts and engine driveability in the Netherlands, but suggested the team would carry that data into Monza. “Fernando did an incredible job to put that car in P9,” she added. “There were six DNFs, but when you look at the list of who didn’t finish, obviously Max [Verstappen] is in there, who would have probably been ahead of him. So you’ve got to give them some merit for that. I hope for them that it’ll continue moving forward because it’s been a bit of a bleak start.”