Fernando Alonso stated that Aston Martin has finally found a solution to the vibration problem that had been affecting the car since the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Spaniard described the result of the tests carried out by Honda in Japan after weeks of technical difficulties as a ‘relief’.
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Since the championship opener in Australia, the team had been facing strong vibrations coming from the Honda power unit. The situation was considered serious internally, to the point that Adrian Newey stated that Alonso and Lance Stroll were at risk of suffering ‘permanent nerve damage in their hands’ due to the intensity of the problem.
Aston Martin decided to keep a chassis in Japan between the Suzuka and Miami GPs for an extensive series of tests at Honda’s base in Sakura. The work aimed to definitively identify the source of the fault and validate the solutions developed by the engineers.
According to Alonso, the results obtained in the tests were confirmed on track during the Miami GP: “It disappeared, I would say it disappeared,” said the two-time world champion when commenting on the situation. The Spaniard highlighted that solving such a complex problem was essential to restore the team’s confidence in the car’s development.
“Until you understand the problems and solve them one by one, it’s hard to gain confidence in the next performance steps,” said the Aston Martin driver. Alonso also emphasized the positive impact of seeing the data obtained in Sakura being reproduced under real race conditions.
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Despite the improvement, the Spaniard acknowledged that the team still faces significant performance limitations: “It was a relief to see that the vibrations measured in Sakura were confirmed on track,” he said. At the same time, Alonso stated that the rest of the season will require calm and joint work to deal with the team’s competitive situation.
The experienced driver also commented on Aston Martin’s decision not to introduce performance updates at the Miami GP. According to him, the strategy had already been defined even before the season opener in Australia.
Alonso explained that, given the reliability problems and the performance gap to rivals, bringing small upgrades to the car at this moment would not make sense: “There’s no point in bringing two, three, or four tenths to the track because we can’t turn that into results, since there is a one-second gap to the car ahead,” he concluded. The Spaniard added that the team also needs to carefully consider its strategy within Formula 1’s budget cap.
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