A 2026 season start quite far from what was expected for Aston Martin. In the first free practice of the Australian GP, the British team confirmed that Fernando Alonso would not take to the track due to battery problems.
Read more F1: Bortoleto finishes ninth in first practice with Audi in Australia
The start of the new regulation came in a very different way than expected. Even with the arrival of Adrian Newey, the switch to Honda engines, a state-of-the-art factory and a two-time champion in the team, nothing went as desired.
After a very complicated shakedown in Barcelona and two weeks of pre-season in Bahrain surrounded by problems, the issues ended up extending to this first stage in Melbourne – so much so that Newey, also the team principal, revealed serious vibrations in the AMR26, which makes it impossible for the car to complete the race.
So, in the first practice session at Albert Park, yet another reflection of a poorly born car. Alonso will not be able to run due to issues with his power unit – Lance Stroll even went out at the start of the session, but soon returned to the pits.
Read more F1: Leclerc leads FP1 of the Australian GP that opens a new era of Formula 1 in 2026
It turns out that the British team was not the only one with problems in this first Formula 1 free practice in Australia: Oscar Piastri, the home driver, complained about having no power, while Arvid Lindblad caused a momentary virtual safety car for having stopped on the track and needing to be pushed to the pitlane.
We found a suspected power unit-related issue which will prevent car #14 from participating in FP1.#AusGP pic.twitter.com/VRhzRigxfq
Read more F1: Check out the full results of FP1 for the 2026 Australian GP
— Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) March 6, 2026
