F1 Australian Grand Prix: Honda issue strong statement after Aston Martin DNF in Melbourne

Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

Honda issue strong statement after Aston Martin DNF at F1 Australian Grand Prix

The Japanese giant's power unit has been a hot topic in Melbourne

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 8 March 2026 18:54

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Honda F1 chief Shintaro Orihara has issued a strong statement following a difficult weekend for Aston Martin at the Australian Grand Prix.

Adrian Newey's team arrived in Melbourne and were forced to confront the reality that neither Lance Stroll or Fernando Alonso would be able to complete a full race distance at Albert Park. Truly shocking stuff, almost unprecedented.

Vibrations from the battery into the AMR26 caused concern that both drivers could suffer permanent nerve damage, which meant only limited running was possible during the scheduled 58-lap race.

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In the end, Stroll and Alonso classified 17th and 18th (Alonso officially with a DNF) respectively, after each driver disappeared in the garage for extended periods before returning to the track gain crucial mileage they missed in testing and the weekend preparation.

Speaking after the race in a team statement, Newey said: "Today was primarily an opportunity to learn more about the AMR26. Both cars took the start and, when it became clear we could not compete for points, we chose to pit and check the cars over.

"The team then asked Fernando to retire the car to preserve components. The data and learnings from this weekend will help us as we go into the next event."

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Honda claim 'Melbourne step in right direction'

Following the Australian GP, Honda released a statement of their own and were of the strong belief they'd seen progress in Melbourne, and were 'confident' heading into China.

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, said: "In Melbourne, we made another step in the right direction. We were able to see that our power unit countermeasures worked in race conditions when we ran in the grand prix without reliability issues. This improvement has been significant if you look at where we were in Bahrain compared to where we are now.

"This event was extremely important for us to check battery reliability. Since the Bahrain tests, Aston Martin Aramco and Honda have worked together very closely to find a solution to the battery vibration issues. As one team we have been working around the clock to find and implement these countermeasures.

Vibrations are decreasing - Orihara

"We can see from our data that the battery vibrations have continued to decrease, and we are now confident we are on track to complete a full race distance. In this aspect, we are on the right trajectory, and we need to keep up this momentum. Every lap we can complete is vital for our PU data gathering, so the hard work and maximum effort will only continue as we move forward.

"Next week in China, we are now confident to build up more mileage on the battery. We will focus on putting in the laps and gathering data to improve our performance and optimise our energy management."

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Australian Grand Prix Lance Stroll Honda