F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Fernando Alonso told to face media over Aston Martin nightmare

Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin teamwear pictured in front of a Chinese flag — Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso told to face F1 media over Aston Martin nightmare

Alonso will have to do the talking for Aston Martin in Shanghai this time around

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 11 March 2026 12:57

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso is set to face the media at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix having already laid out low expectations for Aston Martin after a disaster start to the season.

With the overhaul of chassis and power unit regulations for 2026 and beyond, Aston Martin recruited the help of Japanese PU provider Honda for their first F1 car designed by Adrian Newey.

Honda itself is not new to the sport and through previous partnerships, has contributed to 14 championships (six constructors' and eight drivers') as an engine manufacturer and power unit supplier.

Article continues under video

But whilst Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll would have been hoping to see similar success on the horizon having poured money into the project, his team's F1 partnership with Honda could not have gotten off to a worse start.

At last weekend's Australian GP, both Alonso and his team-mate Lance Stroll were forced to sit out of entire sessions due to ongoing issues with their new power unit and a shortage of parts.

It was this lack of parts that Aston Martin have now confirmed led to Alonso's first DNF of the season, with Stroll hardly able to call the first round of the championship a success having crossed the line last out of the remaining drivers on track and 15 laps behind his nearest competitor.

And now, as the challenge of the first sprint weekend of the season awaits Aston Martin, Alonso has been summoned to face the music during Thursday's media day.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen drops hint on future, Honda chief furious

Alonso summoned for FIA Chinese GP press conference

The Spaniard already gave an indication that the Chinese GP may not go well for Aston Martin, telling media last time out that he expects 'no difference' in the vibrations coming from the Honda PU that were said to put their drivers at risk of suffering permanent nerve damage. The 44-year-old vowed to stay optimistic, but he will soon be tested by the media once again as he has been summoned as part of the lineup for an FIA driver press conference in Shanghai.

On Thursday, Alonso will join Alpine star Pierre Gasly and Haas driver Esteban Ocon in the first of two official sit-down media sessions for the day.

The trio will all face questions from F1 media ahead of the second round of the 2026 campaign, with Aston Martin and Honda's ongoing struggles likely to put Alonso at the centre of the presser.

In the second media session of the day, Gabriel Bortoleto, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon will sit down on the FIA sofa to field questions from the press.

The team principals press conference will come the following day, with the top three drivers summoned to the media session after the first sprint race of the season on Saturday, with the top three fastest drivers then set to do the same later that day after qualifying for the main grand prix.

As was the case at last week's Australian GP, the top three finishing drivers from this Sunday's race will then round off the FIA media sessions for the second weekend.

Below is the full schedule, as published by the FIA, please note all times are local (CST).

Chinese GP FIA Press Conferences Schedule
Date	Time	Driver/Team Member	Session
Thursday 12 March	12:30	Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Haas)	Drivers’ Press Conference
Thursday 12 March	13:00	Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Alex Albon (Williams)	Drivers’ Press Conference
Friday 13 March	13:30	Steve Nielsen (Alpine), Jonathan Wheatley (Audi), Laurent Mekies (Red Bull)	Team Principals Press Conference
Saturday 14 March	Post-Sprint	Top three finishing drivers	Post-Sprint Press Conference
Saturday 14 March	Post-Qualifying	Top three fastest drivers	Post-Qualifying Press Conference
Sunday 15 March	Post-Race	First three finishing drivers	Post-Race Press Conference

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

F1 FIA Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit