Honda’s Shintaro Orihara referred to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as “a very challenging track for the power unit” during the Mexico Grand Prix preview, yet he might not have predicted such difficulties for Aston Martin over the weekend.
Though the team demonstrated solid pace and mileage during free practice—Fernando Alonso was merely 0.769s behind the leading Charles Leclerc in FP2, and the AMR26s amassed an impressive total of 144 laps throughout the sessions—things spiraled downward in the competitive rounds.
Honda worked on enhancing driveability and addressing turbo lag problems in the interim between FP3 and qualifying; nonetheless, Alonso faced “abnormal signals on the water systems” on Saturday afternoon. This concern did not stop him from outpacing Lance Stroll during qualifying; however, both cars were eliminated in Q1, four tenths behind the Q2 cut-off mark.
During the race, both drivers had to retire after just five laps due to cooling complications.
“We anticipated facing some unique challenges due to the high-altitude conditions in Mexico City concerning cooling, compared to other circuits,” explained Orihara, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, after the race.
“However, we discovered that our ERS cooling circuit was subjected to more stress than we expected, which led to us having to retire the car during various sessions.”
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Even after completing numerous laps during practice, the problem arose today and persisted during qualifying yesterday.
“With each race, we aim to gather knowledge for 2027, no matter how tough the lessons may be. We have an abundance of data that we can utilize for our return to this circuit next year, especially regarding the turbo lag, and we will seek solutions.”
On Thursday, Orihara highlighted that in previous seasons, the MGU-H assisted the turbo, thereby minimizing lag. However, the newer, streamlined power units no longer include that component—contributing to issues exacerbated by the thinner air at the height of Mexico City.
While Stroll offered terse responses to the media at the conclusion of the weekend, Alonso was a bit more communicative and underscored the magnitude of the challenge facing both Aston Martin and Honda.
“The car is quite impressive,” the Spaniard commented. “The only issue is that we seemingly cannot complete more laps than a specific quantity, unfortunately, with the engine. Hopefully, we’ve learned a valuable lesson and return next year more adequately prepared.”
Despite the challenges, the Adrian Newey-created vehicle displayed promise—even at Mexico. It’s reasonable to assert that Alonso and Stroll weren’t granted ample opportunity to showcase their capabilities during the race; nevertheless, if we analyze the quickest three sectors from Alonso on Sunday (having pitted on lap three, which hindered his ability to finish a representative lap), he was almost as swift as Williams’ Carlos Sainz, even though he likely had a heavier car due to a full fuel load.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“When we met on Thursday, we acknowledged that this circuit features numerous low-speed corners,” remarked Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer. “We felt confident that if we could enhance driveability, we could compete effectively, especially in sectors such as the stadium area, [Turns] 4-5-6, which involve low-speed maneuvers.”
Thus, reliability stands as the central concern—alongside maintaining morale. “It’s a challenge for everyone to keep spirits high in these circumstances, and we’ve faced struggles throughout the year already,” Krack admitted.
“Our season started on a challenging note, followed by a period where we saw improvements with the upgrades and ADUO. However, we are now grappling with further reliability issues. We faced different complications in Texas due to various incidents. That’s part of the sport, too.
“What matters is that everyone is putting in maximum effort, and I’m confident in their motivation. We don’t need to encourage them; maintaining their motivation is our goal.”
For maintaining motivation, there’s no doubt about Alonso. “I’m doing my utmost with each lap, each morning, every preparation, and every meal—everything revolves around performing at my peak behind the wheel,” he reaffirmed, regardless of having his seventh retirement of the year.
Additional reporting by Luis Ramirez
