F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Aston Martin set for more pain as Honda issue official statement

Aston Martin F1

Aston Martin set for more F1 pain as Honda issue official statement

Things will still be very difficult at Suzuka this weekend

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 24 March 2026 21:12

Aston Martin appear set to endure another weekend of F1 misery after Honda issued an official statement heading into the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

The team has yet to have a driver finish a race in 2026, with a pair of double DNFs and huge issues with the car’s power unit causing maximum embarrassment.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been left fearing permanent nerve damage, so bad are the vibrations coming from that power unit.

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Stroll was so enraged during Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix that he described the car on team radio as "the worst piece of s*** I've ever driven in my f****** life".

The embarrassment this weekend will only be amplified for Honda as the brand is set for another disaster in front of its home fans.

This is not what Aston Martin expected after billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll hired F1’s greatest design genius Adrian Newey, who is now also operating as team principal. So far the partnership with Honda has brought only pain, and has left the team being openly mocked by many fans.

Honda's Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer Shintaro Orihara is heading up the Aston Martin project, and he admitted in an official update on Monday that things are still some way from being in an acceptable place.

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Honda: 'performance not where we want it to be'

He explained: “In China, we made some progress in terms of battery reliability thanks to a reduction in the vibration affecting the systems, but we must find more solutions to establish the cause of the vibrations affecting the drivers. We have also focused our efforts in the gap between China and Japan to continue to improve our reliability, but still our performance is not where we want it to be, especially regarding energy management.

“Suzuka Circuit is a tough track for this, so we have been using the learnings from Australia and China to prepare better for the Japanese Grand Prix.

“We are not at the level where we wanted to be going into this weekend, but we will keep working hard to maximise our package. We are looking forward to seeing the home crowd and the Honda fans. I want them to see that we have made some progress since Bahrain.”

Of course that Bahrain mention refers to pre-season testing in February, and much water has passed under the bridge since then. None of it smelling particularly good for Honda or Aston Martin.

Fans urged to be positive at Suzuka

Despite all that, Orihara tried to give local fans a positive message heading into the weekend’s action.

“Before I joined the Honda Formula 1 project, I was a big fan of Honda and motorsport. I have been attending Suzuka for decades; I was always excited to watch the sessions and cheer for Honda, so I know how passionate the fans are! Now I am proud to work in front of them, and we will keep pushing hard to show them what we can do. We know we can count on their support even if we would like to show better results on track.

F1 Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso Japanese Grand Prix Lance Stroll Lawrence Stroll