Fernando Alonso will miss Thursday's media day at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix due to the birth of his first child. The Aston Martin driver plans to arrive at Suzuka Circuit on Friday. He will hand over his FP1 session to reserve driver Jak Crawford.
Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula 1 world champion, is skipping media activities on Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. The absence stems from personal family reasons, specifically the birth of his first child with partner Melissa Jimenez, which the couple announced last year as expected around this race weekend. Aston Martin confirmed in a statement: “Fernando is arriving slightly later this weekend for personal family reasons and won’t be attending media day at the Japanese Grand Prix. All is well and he will be at the track in time for Friday.” Alonso's first on-track action will be Friday's second practice session alongside teammate Lance Stroll, as he cedes his FP1 duties to reserve driver Jak Crawford to fulfill the season's mandatory rookie outing requirements. The team has endured a challenging start to the 2026 season with the AMR26 car, powered by Honda. Persistent battery failures, caused by excessive engine vibrations, have hampered their testing and race running. Aston Martin sits at the bottom of the constructors' standings with zero points. Recent progress in China reduced some vibrations, but issues persist, particularly in energy management. Honda trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara noted: “In China, we made some progress in terms of battery reliability thanks to a reduction in the vibration affecting the systems, but we must find more solutions... Suzuka is a tough track for this.” Off the track, Aston Martin faces upheaval, with Adrian Newey set to step down as team principal shortly after assuming the role. He is expected to be succeeded by Jonathan Wheatley, who recently departed Audi.
