Alonso previews painful ‘few months’ despite Aston Martin reliability progress

Under new team principal Adrian Newey, the team in green have suffered a torrid start to 2026, plagued by Honda power unit vibrations said to risk 'permanent nerve damage,' and preventing the drivers from completing full race distances until Round Three in Japan.

It was Alonso that finally completed that full race for Aston in Suzuka, finishing P18, and while represents progress for the British team, the two-time world champion made clear that "you don’t find any satisfaction when you are not competitive."

A quick fix certainly does not seem to be on the horizon for Alonso and Aston, as Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack has also said the team "cannot produce miracles" despite F1's five-week break until the next race in Miami.

Speaking to media post-race in Japan, Alonso was asked whether Aston Martin's improved reliability at Suzuka was at least a positive for the struggling team.

Alonso said: "Yeah. Obviously, on the positive side, yes, that is true.

"We had running without too many issues the last two weekends, but in terms of performance, we are at the back, so it’s not really - you don’t find any satisfaction when you are not competitive.

"But we try to stay together, to stay strong, and give time to both factories to fix the situation."

However, the 44-year-old admitted it could be months until the team see big improvements, despite their "flat-out" efforts.

It was not all doom and gloom from Alonso, though, as the veteran driver backed his team to make good on the "huge potential" of both the Honda engine and Newey-designed chassis.

"There is very, very huge potential in the car and on the engine as well. I think we’ve made progress since Bahrain. I think, 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. We still need to fix the power deficit. There are fundamental things that are still on the back foot, but it is not that they are watching TV right now. They are working flat out.

“We just need time, and we need patience to be 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 in competitiveness.”