Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Fernando Alonso admitted that Aston Martin remains effectively at “square one” heading into the F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2026 in Shanghai, after the team encountered serious technical setbacks during the season-opening round in Australia.
The primary issue stems from significant vibrations linked to the Honda power unit, which severely limited the team’s running ahead of the opening race weekend. The impact became evident at the Australian Grand Prix when both Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll failed to finish, while the team continued working closely with engine supplier Honda to resolve the reliability concerns.
As a result, Aston Martin is not prioritising strong results in the short term. Instead, the team’s immediate focus is to accumulate track mileage and gather data on the car, despite a shortage of spare components that forces the team to carefully manage running throughout the weekend.
“The situation, unfortunately, didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne. It’s going to be another difficult weekend, trying to understand as much as possible on the car,” Alonso told media including RacingNews365.
“Eventually we may need to limit laps in a couple of the sessions because we are short on parts. We will just try to get something positive out of the weekend.”
The two-time world champion also underlined the scale of the gap to rival teams in terms of preparation and mileage since pre-season testing in Barcelona. According to Alonso, while other teams have accumulated extensive running, Aston Martin has completed only a fraction of that amount.
“If other teams have done around 1,000 laps, we maybe did around 100 since the Barcelona test. We are nine or ten times behind,” Alonso explained.
The Spaniard added that a successful weekend in Shanghai would simply mean completing sessions without major technical issues. Alonso managed only 18 laps during free practice before being eliminated in SQ1 during sprint qualifying, leaving him set to start the sprint race from the back of the grid.
The situation highlights how both Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin remain in an early recovery phase at the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with reliability and mileage currently taking priority over competitive results as the championship moves deeper into its opening rounds.
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