Fernando Alonso reported nearly no vibrations from his Aston Martin Honda engine during Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, marking an 80% improvement. However, the issue reemerged unchanged on Saturday, limiting the team's performance in qualifying. Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll will start 21st and 22nd on the grid.
At the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Aston Martin faced ongoing challenges with crippling vibrations from their new Honda power unit, which have damaged batteries and raised driver health concerns throughout the early season. The two-time world champion Fernando Alonso described losing all feeling in his hands and feet 20 laps into the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks earlier. Honda reported obtaining useful data during Friday's free practice sessions to reduce vibrations affecting both the battery system and drivers. Alonso noted the car felt 'completely normal' with 'nearly no vibrations' on Friday, calling it the first such session since testing and the opening races. 'Yesterday was definitely 80% better,' he said. Yet, on Saturday morning, 'I jumped in the car and I had the same vibrations as ever,' Alonso added, despite no changes overnight. 'It's still the biggest limiting factor,' he said after qualifying. The AMR26 proved the slowest in qualifying, with Alonso 1.715 seconds off the Q2 cut-off in 21st and Stroll 1.989 seconds adrift in 22nd. Stroll attributed the pace deficit to a combination of power unit and car issues, losing time on straights and lacking grip in corners. His Chinese Grand Prix retirement after nine laps stemmed from a battery problem unrelated to vibrations, Honda clarified. Stroll said he would discover the physical effects in Sunday's race, hoping for reliability. Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe explained that vibrations appeared acceptable on dyno tests but emerged severely only after integration into Aston Martin's chassis. 'This is not something that can be resolved by the power unit alone,' Watanabe told media. He highlighted progress in reducing battery damage but noted mitigating driver impacts would take more time, requiring close collaboration with Aston Martin technical director Enrico Cardile. The team aims to complete a full race distance for the first time this season.
