“Sinister noises”: Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin suffers another breakdown in Bahrain testing. Fernando Alonso faces another technical setback as Aston Martin stops on track during Bahrain testing.

Aston Martin struggles continue: Fernando Alonso stranded in Bahrain

Another technical setback hits Aston Martin during the F1 tests in Bahrain. After completing 40 laps this morning, Fernando Alonso was left stranded on track in the early afternoon.

Aston Martin’s ongoing woes

There’s no peace for Aston Martin. After arriving late for the Montmeló shakedown and already struggling with a performance gap much larger than Lawrence Stroll’s expectations, the AMR26 has continued to falter in Bahrain. On the afternoon of day five at Sakhir, the car stopped once again.

Just before turn 4 in the early afternoon, the car designed by Adrian Newey left Fernando Alonso stranded, leaving him stunned as he watched the AMR26 come to a halt in the middle of the Bahrain circuit. The exact cause of the stop is not yet known, but onboard replay revealed ominous sounds—a sort of seizure—from the car. The issue occurred as soon as the Spanish driver attempted a flying lap after a long run that had already been far from encouraging.

This setback comes amid internal controversies within Aston Martin, where some insiders have openly criticized Honda for producing a 2026 power unit that allegedly falls short in terms of outright power.

Ferrari also hits a technical problem

Aston Martin was not the only team to lose valuable track time. Ferrari also faced its first technical issue of the day, forcing Lewis Hamilton to complete only five laps before the lunch break. The Scuderia has not specified the severity of the problem, but Lewis Hamilton is attempting to make up for lost time during the afternoon session.

Aston Martin’s 2026 preparations have therefore been further derailed by Fernando Alonso’s on-track breakdown in Bahrain, an incident that amplifies existing concerns over the AMR26’s reliability and fuels growing internal friction regarding the performance of the new Honda power unit.