Honda find no 'problems' with F1 engine after Fernando Alonso retirement sparks investigation

Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin

Honda find no 'problems' with F1 engine after Fernando Alonso retirement sparks investigation

Another miserable F1 weekend for Aston Martin

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Monday 28 September 2026 08:15

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Chief engineer Shintaro Orihara has revealed that Honda's analysis has found no problems with Fernando Alonso's power unit, despite the Spaniard claiming it was the reason he retired from Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Honda's engine has been a real thorn in the side for Aston Martin so far this season, and the weekend in Baku proved to be another miserable outing for the team.

Lance Stroll was forced to retire from the race after suffering a water issue on lap nine, and unfortunately for the team, Alonso didn't make it much further.

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After complaining over the radio that he was suffering from a power issue and being told back that there was 'nothing we can do at the moment' as the team investigated, Alonso called time on his race: "Yeah, but. I think we will box at the end of this lap."

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Fernando Alonso on Azerbaijan GP retirement

Speaking to the media after the race, Alonso opened up further on the problems he was experiencing within the car.

"I passed the Cadillacs and Checo overtook me and pulled away," the Spaniard explained. "Then I battled with Bottas, we passed each other several times, five or six times, and then we had to pit.

"We suspect there's an engine problem; the lack of speed on the straight was unusual. We need to see why.

"There were no warning lights, everything was working fine, but I started losing almost a second and a half on the straight, so it must be something unusual."

Initial Honda investigation finds no problems

Despite those comments, Honda's initial analysis after the race in Baku has not found any problems with Alonso's power unit.

That doesn't mean there aren't gremlins still to be found, with a deeper investigation to come, but the Japanese manufacturer's initial analysis hasn't shown up anything yet.

"Based on the data we've reviewed so far, the engine is fine," Honda's chief engineer Orihara confirmed post-race, via AS.

"We don't see any problems in the data, but we'll review it carefully.

"We'll check the engine power, energy management, and GPS data."

Perhaps a deeper analysis can provide Alonso and Aston Martin with the answers they are looking for, but they certainly don't have long to get on top of things.

F1 action gets back underway in just a few days, with action from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia set to kick off in Sepang on Friday, October 2.