Just two months ago, the idea of an Aston Martin car finishing a Formula 1 grand prix seemed almost impossible. The team’s decision to switch from customer Mercedes powertrains to a works partnership with Honda initially backfired, as the Japanese engine produced vibrations that repeatedly damaged batteries and caused physical discomfort for drivers.
As a result, Aston Martin recorded only one official finish across the first three races, with four retirements and Lance Stroll failing to complete more than 15 laps without a break in Melbourne.
However, after the Suzuka round, one of the AMR26 cars remained in Japan during Formula 1’s unexpected five-week break in April, allowing Honda engineers to study and address the vibration issues. The Miami Grand Prix marked a turning point, with both cars finishing the sprint and the main race in Florida.
“The reliability and the vibrations are much better than what it has been so far,” Fernando Alonso said after qualifying. “That’s the main positive of this weekend. Let’s say we can tick that box because the car behaves normal now. No issues to finish the race tomorrow. No reliability concerns.” After the main race, the Spanish veteran confirmed he experienced no vibrations on Sunday, while Stroll noted “less vibrations” in a brief comment.
Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack and Honda Racing Corporation trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara addressed the issue and the drivers’ slightly differing feedback. “I think we are happy with it, and I think our partner wants to do more,” Krack said elusively. Orihara added, “After the Japanese Grand Prix, I mentioned HRC and Aston Martin worked very hard to bring countermeasures here. We confirmed them working well, and also, drivers gave us positive comments. That’s good progress for Aston Martin and Honda. We have completed a full race distance and also a sprint race distance without any major reliability issue. That is good progress. Then, next focus point, we can focus to optimise our data setting for energy management and also drivability. There is still a lot of room to improve on our power unit. That’s the next step for us.”
Orihara clarified that “countermeasures from both sides” were required to fix the vibrations, as they spread into the chassis.
The team’s focus now shifts to performance. The AMR26 has clearly been lacking pace regardless of reliability. Alonso and Stroll qualified 18th and 19th respectively for the grand prix, 1.2 seconds off the Q2 cutoff, though Alonso was hampered by a gearbox issue causing “random downshifts”. Cadillac was their only rival in the race, which Aston finished 78 seconds away from points.
“In terms of pace, we didn’t bring any part here,” Alonso noted after qualifying. “Probably we fall behind a little bit extra than the last race.” The two-time world champion does not expect a breakthrough before the summer break, as the team refrains from introducing upgrades. “I’m at peace because I understand the situation,” he added after the race. “The team explained to me that we are P20 or P19 and the next car is one second in front, so even if we bring two tenths, it’s not going to change much. We have to focus on bigger steps.”