F1 2026: Aston Martin heading for Honda showdown and 'it's not going to be pretty'

Aston Martin

Aston Martin heading for Honda F1 showdown and 'it's not going to be pretty'

Can a fix be found at Aston Martin?

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 17 March 2026 09:12

Aston Martin F1 and Honda will reportedly meet ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix...and it's 'not going to be pretty'.

Unsurprisingly, given the vibrations from the Honda power unit, Aston Martin have been unable to complete a full race distance in the opening two rounds of the 2026 campaign.

Said to cause permanent nerve damage to drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll if withstood for a whole grand prix, the discomfort was never more evident in Shanghai where at one stage the Spaniard had to lift his hands off the steering wheel going down the straight.

Article continues under video

Both drivers retired from the Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso because of the discomfort caused by the vibrations while Stroll's was due to a battery issue. Next on the calendar is Honda's home race at Suzuka, and the engine manufacturer will be hoping for progress in front of the Japanese crowd.

Can Honda turn things around for Japanese GP?

Naturally, when we discuss progress in relation in Aston Martin, it isn't about a return to the midfield, rather eliminating the vibrations that pose such a danger to their drivers and thus enabling them to complete a grand prix.

Alonso and team principal Adrian Newey have stressed that mileage is their central target at this stage, and to understand the gremlins plaguing the AMR26.

Honda named decreasing these vibrations as a key area to work on ahead of Suzuka, and are certainly under pressure to deliver a quick fix, not in the least because of a meeting between themselves and Aston Martin in Japan.

Speaking on Ted’s Notebook after the Chinese GP, Ted Kravitz discussed the ‘quick fix that has to come’ for Aston Martin with the Japanese GP just two weekends away.

Kravitz then said to the Sky Sports F1 cameras: "Will it be awkward when they go to Honda-owned Suzuka in a couple of weeks' time? Yes it will.

"What are they going to do on the kind of, ‘let’s try and make this as nice as possible,' I don’t know, but it’s just not going to be pretty all round."

When is the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix?

With a two week break between China and Japan, the race weekend in Suzuka takes place between Friday March 27 and Sunday March 29.

Sunday's grand prix will take place at 14:00 local time (JST), which is 06:00 BST and 07:00 (the clocks will go forward in the UK and Central Europe).

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Japanese Grand Prix Honda