Fernando Alonso baffled by Aston Martin Honda U-turn

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso baffled by Aston Martin Honda U-turn

A rollercoaster weekend for Aston Martin

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 31 March 2026 09:55

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Fernando Alonso was left baffled by his Aston Martin Honda car at the Japanese Grand Prix, where the F1 team appeared to hit a breakthrough.

For the first time in 2026, Aston Martin managed to complete a grand prix with Alonso, who could contend with the vibrations which have caused such severe discomfort in recent weeks.

Despite more positive signals from the Honda engine, there was little consistency in the AMR26 throughout the Japanese GP weekend, where Alonso revealed a complete reversal in feeling from Friday to Saturday.

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He told the media before qualifying on Saturday: "The vibrations were 80 per cent better on Friday compared to how they were in Bahrain; I was pleasantly surprised, but today they’re back. It seems a bit random."

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Alonso: Vibrations difficult to understand

Alonso also delved further into the vibrations and continued: "It’s still the biggest limiting factor."

"Yesterday, the car felt completely normal, nearly no vibrations, so I was very positive.

"This morning I jumped in the car, and I have the same vibrations as ever. We didn't change anything, so that was a little bit difficult to understand."

“We are going through all the changes we did overnight to make sure that there was something yesterday on the car that was helping the vibrations."

What Honda had to say after Japanese GP

After Sunday's breakthrough which allowed Alonso to complete the full race distance, Honda's general trackside manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara said: "Today in Suzuka we completed the full race distance with Fernando’s car which is a first good step in terms of reliability.

"In recent weeks, we have been working hard with the team to improve this area. In addition, we’ve been enhancing our engine performance and optimising our energy management strategy.

"We gathered a lot of data today by finishing the race with Fernando, and this gives us more information to help us move forward. We will focus on this over the next four weeks before going to Miami.

"Racing in front of our home crowd with Lance and Fernando was special, and it has been touching to see the banners and messages of support over the Japanese Grand Prix."

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Honda