Aston Martin is preparing for the Japanese Grand Prix, a home race in many ways thanks to Honda supplying the team’s power units. Unfortunately, this connection cannot be celebrated as it should due to serious struggles the AMR26 is experiencing on track. Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, admitted that despite hard work in the factory, the car’s performance is still lacking and not yet competitive with rivals.
Focus on reliability, but performance still short
“This week we focused on improving reliability, but the performance is still not at the desired level, especially in terms of energy management,” Orihara acknowledged. He highlighted that vibrations remain a persistent issue needing effective solutions. “We need to find additional ways to determine the cause of the vibrations affecting the drivers,” he concluded, underlining that the team’s work is ongoing but the challenges remain significant.
In summary, the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix is shaping up to be a somber affair for the new Aston Martin-Honda alliance. Based on the content of Orihara’s technical update, the team is still in a troubleshooting phase rather than a performance-hunting one.
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