Honda has released an official statement following yet another disastrous run on track for Aston Martin on the second day of the final pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Facing setbacks in their preparation
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was the driver behind the wheel of the AMR26 during the afternoon session on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Spaniard’s run was cut short as he experienced problems under braking for Turn 4. This led to the end of Aston Martin’s run on track for the day and was yet another session cut short for the team. The AMR26 was left stranded in the garage for the majority of the day.
The Silverstone outfit has been facing constant struggles with its 2026 challenger throughout both pre-season testing sessions in Bahrain. Earlier in the week, a suspected Honda PU issue had cut the team’s session short yet again.
Things continued to go downhill for Aston Martin on Friday morning ahead of the final day of pre-season testing. The AMR26 was reportedly unable to make its way out of the pits in the opening hours of the session. Lance Stroll was scheduled to bring the car out on track for the session, but was forced to abandon running the car due to yet another suspected problem. The team instead spent the majority of the morning working on the AMR26. This is detrimental for Aston Martin, as the car needs to participate in these testing sessions to gather valuable data for further improvements.
Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack spoke on the situation and admitted that the team was lacking in pace throughout the test sessions. He also added that the AMR26 still has room to improve.
“we know we are missing pace and we have areas we know we need to improve”
However, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll does not share the same sentiment as Krack, with the Canadian claiming that the team is not far behind the front-runners on the grid.
Honda’s statement
Honda started their statement addressing Alonso’s early retirement on Thursday. The Japanese manufacturer has revealed that it was a battery-related issue that resulted in the Spainard’s stoppage on track.
“Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team. “
Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC [Honda Racing Corporation] Sakura. Due to this and the shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today’s run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints.”
Prior to the session, the two-time World Champion addressed the situation and relayed his confidence in technical chief Adrian Newey’s ability to resolve the issue. Alonso added that while the situation was not ideal, the AMR26 is still in its early stages of development.
“We need to unlock more performance. Missing [most of] Barcelona was not ideal. This is the very first test for us, so we’re still going step-by-step into the car. We are a little bit on the back foot, we have to admit that, but hopefully there is time to improve. “
“On the chassis there is no doubt, we have the best with us. After 30-plus years of Adrian Newey dominating the sport, I think no one will doubt that we will find a way to have the best car eventually.”
Despite the disappointing performance of the Honda powerunit thus far, Alonso remains optimistic that improvements will be made to maximise its potential.
“On the power unit, we need to wait and see when we unlock all the performance, where we are and what is missing, and then work hard.”
Stroll is scheduled to drive the AMR26 on track for the afternoon session of the final pre-season test. However, it is worth noting that Aston Martin was the only F1 team that did not make an appearance in the opening hours of the morning session.
