Honda lift lid on Aston Martin F1 nightmare with damning admission

Honda have revealed the technical problem behind Aston Martin's nightmare F1 Mexican Grand Prix weekend.

The Japanese giants admitted after Sunday's race that their ERS cooling circuit came under significantly more stress than anticipated at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

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Honda have been under significant pressure throughout the 2026 season, with their new power unit proving to be a major issue for the Silverstone-based team.

Mexico City over the weekend may have been a new low for the partnership, with the team in green enduring a disastrous Saturday and Sunday.

The hope generated by Fernando Alonso finishing Free Practice 2 in P12 on Friday quickly evaporated during a miserable qualifying session, which saw the two-time world champion out early due to a suspected water pressure issue linked to his ERS system.

Sunday's race brought yet more misery for Alonso and Aston Martin, with both of their drivers registering early DNFs.

Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll were both forced to stop their cars in quick succession on Lap 6 of the 71-lap race, due to abnormal pressure levels in their PU systems.

Alonso, who had already referenced feeling "frustration beyond imagination" after qualifying on Saturday, revealed: "A frustrating end to the day.

"We knew it was going to be tough, but having to retire the car so early is disappointing. The same MGUK issue that stopped us in Qualifying reoccurred and forced us to stop."

Honda underestimated Mexico City challenge

Honda released an official statement detailing the issues faced in Mexico City, with Chief Engineer Shintaro Orihara appearing to admit they had underestimated the size of the challenge.

“We knew that with the special high-altitude circumstance of Mexico City, we would face some additional challenges compared to other racetracks for the cooling," he began.

"However, we found that our ERS cooling circuit was under heavier stress than anticipated and this is why we had to stop the car in different sessions.

“Despite completing a series of laps during the practice sessions, the issue occurred today and during qualifying yesterday."

Orihara says Honda are remaining positive despite 'the hard lessons' of 2026, and says the data being gathered will stand his team in good stead for the future.

“At each race this year, we need to learn for 2027, even the hard lessons.

"We have a lot of data that we can bring back to this circuit next year, including on the turbo lag, and we will work on the solutions.”

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