The Suzuka weekend represented, in its own way, a key transitional moment for the Aston Martin-Honda project. For the first time in the 2026 Formula 1 season, the AMR26 managed to see the chequered flag of a Grand Prix, thanks to Fernando Alonso, who brought the car home in 18th position. Although the final result still reflects a one-lap deficit to the race leaders and a finish behind Sergio Perez’s Cadillac, completing the full race distance marks an essential first step for the Silverstone-based team and its Japanese partner.
Despite the modest outcome on paper, this milestone provides a crucial foundation on which Aston Martin can begin building its recovery, particularly after a challenging start to the new regulatory era. The ability to gather consistent race data now becomes central to understanding the car’s limitations and unlocking future performance gains.
Alonso: “Finishing the race is a first step, but we must improve in many areas”
For Fernando Alonso, who became a father on the eve of the Suzuka weekend, simply crossing the finish line at Honda’s home circuit carried a significance that went far beyond the final classification. The Spanish driver emphasized that reliability was the absolute priority in order to begin mapping the car’s behavior over a full race distance: “Finishing the race here in Suzuka today shows clear progress for the team, and that is a very positive aspect to take away from the weekend. Even if we didn’t have the right pace, it was still good to collect valuable mileage and race with Lance.”
Alonso also confirmed that this first chequered flag of the season represents only an initial milestone within a broader picture that remains far from competitive: “Completing the race distance has given us useful information and data to analyze and work on to improve. The pace was not there in any session of the weekend, and it wasn’t there in the race either. So we need to improve in many areas.”
Another important aspect of Fernando Alonso’s weekend was his physical condition, which had been put under strain in China due to excessive vibrations from the car. Encouraging signs emerged in Japan, as he explained: “It was better. There is still room for improvement, but it was okay and it allowed me to finish the race.”
On the other side of the garage, Lance Stroll’s race came to an early end on lap 30 due to a technical issue, just as the Canadian driver was enjoying an engaging on-track battle with his teammate. Reflecting on his retirement, Stroll said: “I was enjoying the race, even if we were not competitive and fighting at the back. Suzuka is always a fun track, so it’s a shame we couldn’t make it to the end. We still need to investigate, but it seems to have been a water pressure issue on the internal combustion engine.”
Honda’s pride: relief for Watanabe and the search for missing power
For Honda, a home race is never just another event. The brand’s pride was on the line in front of senior executives, and Alonso’s finish brought a sense of relief to the garage. Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing (HRC), openly admitted the tension experienced during the race: “I have never wanted to finish a race this much. I am relieved, to be honest.”
Chief engineer Shintaro Orihara had already made it clear before the weekend that Honda would do everything possible to reach the chequered flag. From a technical standpoint, Orihara outlined an aggressive yet realistic development plan: “We completed the race distance, which is a good step forward in terms of reliability. We have also worked hard to improve battery reliability. At the same time, at our Sakura facility, we are working intensively to improve engine performance, to evaluate and optimize energy management.”
However, the gap to the leading power unit manufacturers remains significant. According to estimates circulating in the paddock and reported by the Spanish outlet Marca, Honda’s power unit could be lacking around 100 kW (136 horsepower) during energy recovery phases. Orihara acknowledged that extracting additional performance from the internal combustion engine will not be straightforward: “We must focus on improving energy management, because the ICE is already operating close to its limit.”
The Japanese engineer made it clear that the main focus in the coming weeks will be on refining energy deployment strategies and optimizing data collected on the dyno, taking full advantage of the four-week gap before the Miami Grand Prix.
Not just the engine: for Mike Krack, there is “a mountain to climb”
Aston Martin’s Chief Trackside Officer, Mike Krack, assessed the result with a realistic mindset, underlining that the road toward the competitiveness expected from the Silverstone team remains extremely long: “The atmosphere in the team is not one of celebration, that is clear. Here the cars were ready to race, and our modest objective was to finish the race with both cars. We managed it with one; it is a small step in a long, very long list of steps we still need to take.”
Krack also called for unity within the team during this difficult phase: “As a team, we cannot self-destruct. We are in a tough situation and we must focus on the positive aspects of the last three months. Since January we had not done many laps, but now we have finished a race. It should be normal in Formula 1; it is not something to celebrate, but we must recognize that this is our situation, accept it and work to get out of it. Credit to everyone at the track, in Sakura and in Silverstone.”
The Luxembourgish engineer acknowledged that the scale of the challenge ahead is enormous: “We realize that we need to make big steps. These are not small gains like the ones we achieved in reliability. We will use this break to take the first step, but we have a mountain to climb.”
Crucially, the shortcomings of the AMR26 are not limited to the Honda power unit alone. They also involve core areas of Aston Martin’s own performance package. As Krack admitted: “We are not good in high-speed corners and we have not yet reached the minimum weight. These are areas where we need to work hard to make progress.”
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