Aston Martin’s Singapore Grand Prix weekend exposed a clear contrast within the AMR26: the Honda power unit showed encouraging progress on the straights, but major weaknesses in traction, mechanical grip and minimum corner speed prevented Fernando Alonso from being competitive at Marina Bay.
Singapore had appeared to be a potentially favourable round for Aston Martin after positive signs in previous races. On paper, the street-circuit layout should have suited the AMR26, but the reality proved very different. Fernando Alonso finished only 17th after a weekend dominated by chassis and traction limitations.
Telemetry exposes Aston Martin’s Singapore weakness
From Sprint Qualifying onwards, the data showed a clear performance gap compared with direct rivals such as Racing Bulls and Alpine. Fernando Alonso progressed through SQ1 with a 1:33.7, but the limitations of the AMR26 became increasingly obvious as the weekend developed. In SQ2, Liam Lawson was seven tenths faster than Fernando Alonso. Around 0.4 seconds of that deficit came between Turns 3 and 7, with another 0.2 seconds lost between Turns 14 and 16. By contrast, their times through the central section of the lap, between Turns 8 and 14, were broadly comparable.
The difference was not primarily related to engine power. Instead, telemetry pointed to the time Fernando Alonso needed before being able to apply full throttle on the exits of Turns 3 and 5. That delayed acceleration then carried a speed penalty all the way down the following straights.
Aston Martin also struggled over the Sprint race distance
The same problem became even more pronounced over a race stint. Fernando Alonso was losing roughly 1.5 seconds per lap to Liam Lawson during the Sprint, including around 0.6 seconds in Sector 1, 0.8 seconds in Sector 2 and 0.3 seconds in Sector 3.
That deficit highlighted Aston Martin’s difficulty in maintaining consistent performance over a longer run. The car was not simply lacking in isolated areas; its pace deteriorated substantially when the rear tyres and traction demands became more significant. Saturday qualifying then brought another setback. While much of the grid improved by around four tenths compared with Friday, Fernando Alonso went two tenths slower and failed to reach Q2.
Set-up changes reduced the AMR26’s minimum speed through the middle of slower corners, particularly between Turns 10 and 12. Aston Martin subsequently changed the power unit and started from the pit lane.
Sector analysis points to a chassis and mechanical grip problem
The Grand Prix itself confirmed that Aston Martin was unable to fight even with Williams, running around one second per lap behind the midfield. A sector-by-sector telemetry comparison helps isolate where the AMR26 was losing performance.
On the straights, the Aston Martin was generally around one tenth slower in the most direct comparisons with Liam Lawson, although the deficit reached as much as four tenths in the most critical sections. Even so, the figures suggested that the Honda power unit had made genuine progress in straight-line performance. That progress became less relevant in medium-to-slow corners. Through sections such as Turns 7 to 9 and Turns 10 to 13, the chassis weakness became much clearer, with Aston Martin losing between three and four tenths to Haas and Alpine.
Turn 14 was particularly damaging. Aston Martin was losing around 0.3 to 0.4 seconds compared with its direct rivals. This was not only a traction problem, but also a consequence of being unable to maintain sufficient minimum speed through the corner itself.
Honda has progressed, but Aston Martin still lacks mechanical grip
The Marina Bay weekend therefore produced a fairly clear diagnosis for the AMR26. Honda’s power unit has genuinely improved and reduced Aston Martin’s losses in higher-speed and straight-line sections.
The main weakness instead lies in mechanical grip and the car’s set-up configuration. Because the Aston Martin drivers needed to slow the car more aggressively in the middle of corners in order to complete the rotation, they then had to wait longer before applying power on corner exit. That delay compromised traction and carried a speed loss onto the following straights.
At Singapore, the AMR26 did not need more top speed. It needed to carry more speed through the corners and accelerate earlier on exit. Until Aston Martin improves that area, Honda’s straight-line progress alone will not be enough to transform the car’s overall competitiveness.
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