Aston Martin is approaching the Melbourne race with caution. Faced with persistent technical issues and a lack of parts, the team will not hesitate to retire its cars at the slightest sign of warning.
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The qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix was not easy for Aston Martin. At the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso qualified 17th, narrowly failing to reach Q2.
Despite this modest result, the double world champion prefers to focus on certain positive elements. During the first free practice sessions, the British team seemed to be the slowest on the grid. No longer occupying the last place therefore constitutes a slight improvement.
For Alonso, this progress remains modest on a purely sporting level, but it could have a significant impact on the team’s morale.
“I don’t think it changes much not to be last,” he explained. “But it can make a small difference in the garage.”
Intense work in the garage
The Spanish driver wanted to praise the efforts made by the team members since the start of the weekend. The mechanics have had to work tirelessly to resolve various technical problems.
“The mechanics have been working extremely hard for six weeks. They are changing power units day and night.”
In this context, seeing at least one car capable of fighting on track is a small encouragement for the teams.
“Even on the other side of the garage, after Lance’s bad luck in FP3 and qualifying, just being on track and fighting with a few cars is still better than being last like yesterday.”
Alonso also believes that the drivers have a role to play in maintaining the team’s motivation: “It’s probably part of our job: keeping the team’s morale up in difficult moments.”
A cautious strategy for the race
Despite some progress, Aston Martin remains very cautious for the race. The vibrations affecting the car seem to have been partially corrected thanks to the work of Honda, the team’s engine partner.
However, the strategy remains clear: at the slightest sign of a mechanical problem, the team will not hesitate to withdraw the car from the race to avoid more significant damage.
“We will monitor the situation lap after lap,” Alonso explained. “As Adrian said yesterday, we are short on parts and that’s no secret.”
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Caution is all the more important as the next round of the championship is coming very soon.
“China is coming next week. If we detect the slightest sign of a problem, we cannot take the risk of continuing until we cause more significant damage.”
A very frustrating weekend for Stroll
The situation was even more complicated for Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver was unable to participate in either FP3 or qualifying due to a technical problem that grounded his car all day.
With a touch of irony, he summarized his Saturday quite simply: “It’s just problems, that’s how it is. I just drank a cappuccino while watching qualifying.”
Despite this frustration, Stroll hopes to be able to drive during the race to gather as much information as possible.
“I want to try to drive tomorrow, learn as much as possible and rack up laps.”
Newey sees progress nonetheless
For his part, technical director Adrian Newey acknowledges that the situation remains complicated. But he believes the team is gradually progressing with the new AMR26.
The laps completed by Alonso during free practice notably allowed for the collection of valuable data for further development.
“We continue to progress with the AMR26 in collaboration with our technical partner Honda.”
Regarding Lance Stroll, the team still hopes to find a solution to allow him to start, despite an extremely complicated weekend.
“The car clearly has the potential to race. We will discuss with the FIA to see what options exist so that Lance can participate in the race.”
For Aston Martin, the main objective now remains simple: accumulate as many kilometers as possible and best prepare for the rest of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
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