Fernando Alonso likens Aston Martin struggles to McLaren 2023 as ‘huge potential’ remains

Fernando Alonso has suggested Aston Martin is currently in the position McLaren was in 2023, and believes there’s “huge potential” to come from his team.

Aston Martin’s switch to Honda has seen Lawrence Stroll’s squad slump to the back of the grid, but Alonso reckons big strides could be made once a stable baseline is established.

Fernando Alonso compares Aston Martin struggles to McLaren 2023

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The Adrian Newey-led squad has started the new regulations cycle on the back foot, as Honda has struggled to establish a baseline, as vibrations have hampered the Japanese manufacturer.

As Honda’s Koji Watanabe revealed at Suzuka, the extent of vibrations from its power unit is within design parameters when on the test bench, but once mated to the Aston Martin AMR26, it is encountering far greater levels of vibration that have caused severe reliability issues.

This has largely affected the battery pack, leading to multiple problems across the pre-season and in Australia, but there have been clear signs of progress in the two race weekends since.

While vibrations were such that Alonso withdrew in China due to discomfort, the Spaniard finished the Japanese Grand Prix to mark the team’s first race distance of the year.

While the performance level of the car is currently only enough to toil around at the back, Alonso said he’s optimistic that things will turn around.

“We have been running without too many issues for the last two weekends,” Alonso said over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

“Obviously, in terms of performance, we are at the back. So, yeah, you don’t find any satisfaction when you are not competitive.

“But, you know, we try to stay together, to stay strong, and give time to both factories to fix the situation. They are working flat out. There are a couple of improvements, a couple of ideas.

“But, in Formula 1, it doesn’t happen today, and you need to spend a few months, I guess, with the current car. We will not change too many things on this car if we know that it will change completely in a few months’ time. So that’s the situation we have.”

He pointed to the example of McLaren – the Constructors’ Champions of 2024 and ’25, who were still suffering Q1 knockouts on occasion during 2023, and suggested that the second half of this season could look very different.

“I think a couple of months,” he said of the timeline back to competitiveness.

“We saw the McLaren in 2023. They were last in the first couple of races, and they eventually were at the front at the end of the year. Maybe that’s too optimistic. That’s a dream scenario.

“But, in a way, we know that the season is long, and if you understand the problems and you fix them, you have plenty of time to do the second part of the year or the last third of the championship in a much better position. That’s what we are working on now.”

With team boss and managing technical partner suggesting the Aston Martin is perhaps a top-five chassis once the power unit struggles start to fade, Alonso said he’s confident there is plenty of performance to unlock in the AMR26.

“Definitely a very, very huge potential on the car, on the engine as well,” he said.

“I think we have made progress since Bahrain, in terms of deployment, in terms of understanding some of the drivability issues; now we are in a much better position.

“We still need to fix the vibrations, and we still need to fix the power deficit. There are fundamental things that they are still on the back foot.

“But it’s not that you know they are watching TV right now. You know they are working flat out. So we just need time, and we need to be patient here on track, because, while the factory is bringing the upgrades, we need to keep working and racing every weekend with a package that is maybe not the best competitive.”

More on Aston Martin in F1

Honda admits Aston Martin AMR26 worsens engine vibration issues

Damon Hill backs Adrian Newey vision despite Aston Martin Honda struggles

Aston Martin rolled out with upgrades to the AMR26 in Japan, including a revised front wing and floor edge, but Alonso said the purpose of the upgrades at this point isn’t with the intent of performance, but rather in ensuring that the team understands everything about its package.

“Zero [performance],” he said, “because the upgrades are just a small thing that we are testing on the car to understand if what we think is the problem is the problem.

“So, when we test those upgrades, they tell us if we are in the right direction or not in the factory. But it’s not that it’s bringing performance. It’s just bringing direction.

“So yeah, everything is working as expected. In the factory, there are a lot of things going on, and they look very positive, some of the things that we are testing.

“There is an idea, then you need to wind tunnel, then you need to CFD, then you need to make it into production, then you need to bring it to the track. And then you are in July, August…”

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