Honda’s Shintaro Orihara had described Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as “a very challenging track for the power unit,” but Aston Martin’s Mexico Grand Prix weekend unraveled quickly. Fernando Alonso was just 0.769s behind Charles Leclerc in FP2, and the AMR26s covered 144 practice laps. Still, both cars exited in Q1, four tenths off the Q2 cut-off.
In the race, Alonso and Lance Stroll retired after five laps due to cooling issues. Orihara, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, blamed Mexico City’s high altitude and unexpected stress on the ERS cooling circuit. He noted the new power units lack the MGU-H that previously reduced turbo lag, compounding problems in thin air.
Alonso called the car “very good” but said engine limits restricted lap counts. Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, cited reliability as the crux while praising team motivation. The Adrian Newey-designed AMR26 showed promise, with Alonso’s sectors nearly matching Carlos Sainz despite a heavier fuel load.
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing