Aston Martin F1 boss finds Honda 'peace talks' absurd

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Japan, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Aston Martin F1 boss finds Honda 'peace talks' absurd

The Adrian Newey era has not gone to plan so far

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Saturday 4 April 2026 09:47

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Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer and former team principal Mike Krack has rubbished the idea that 'peace talks' were needed between the team and engine supplier Honda.

A lot of the blame for the team's early season struggles have been laid at the Japanese company's door, with Adrian Newey specifically making the issues very public before the Australian Grand Prix.

The legendary designer revealed Aston Martin found out late that Honda had replaced a number of their most experienced F1 staff with engineers who had little or no experience in the sport.

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An almost comically bad weekend ensued in Melbourne, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll stuck in the garage for most of practice, and unable to run many laps when they did finally get out on track.

One of the most notable issues the team has been suffering is excessive vibrations through the steering wheel, with the drivers fearing nerve damage in their hands if they completed more than half a race distance.

Krack hopeful vibrations will be good in Miami

Despite all of that, Alonso actually managed to make it to the end of Honda's home Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday, with Krack calling it a 'matter of respect' to try and finish the race.

The Luxembourgish engineer dismissed the idea that his team had to mend bridges with Honda, insisting to the media: “There was no need to make peace because we have a good relationship."

He continued: “We came here, we know this is the home race of our partner. We have a lot of respect for Honda and we have seen how much work went in to the issues we are having.

“So it was also a matter of respect for us to try everything we can to finish the race. We discussed that before, as we discuss over the next weeks and so on. There is no need to make peace because there are no issues.”

The best news of all for the team's fans? Krack said of the vibration issue that's plagued the backmarkers so far in 2026: “It is a topic we will have to continue to work on with our partner, and I am quite confident that for Miami we can do a step that [means] we are not speaking about it anymore."

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F1 Aston Martin Honda Mike Krack