Aston Martin reliability improves but Alonso flags ‘weird’ new issue

For Fernando Alonso, the Miami Grand Prix offered a rare moment of reliability – but little else to celebrate.

Aston Martin finally saw both cars reach the chequered flag for the first time this season, yet the result itself – P15 for Alonso and P17 for Lance Stroll – underlined the team’s ongoing struggles.

And while one issue appears to have been resolved, another has quickly taken its place.

Alonso’s race was shaped by a long first stint, gambling on rain that never came. It was a strategy born more out of necessity than optimism.

“We were just waiting for some rain. If it comes, you may avoid one stop,” he explained.

“But it doesn’t change much because we are one stop behind the next car, so even if it rains and they do an extra pit stop, they are still ahead of us.

“So there is not much we can play [with], but try to learn with the strategy management and the tyre management.

“We managed to finish the race with both cars for the very first time, so some reliability improvements and this is the positives we have to take from Miami.”

So, in a weekend short on performance, simply making it to the end counted as progress.

A new problem surfaces

The vibration issues that plagued the AMR26’s Honda engine earlier in the season appear to be under control. But any relief was short-lived.

"Honestly, it was more the gearbox the whole weekend than the engine,” Alonso revealed.

"So I don't know - the electronics, something was very weird on the downshifts and the upshifts, so not very well controlled.

"So yeah, that's the fix number one for Canada. I think with all the heavy braking zones in Canada, we need to improve the gearbox behaviour at the moment.”

It’s a familiar pattern: one step forward, another complication immediately following. And with Canada looming – a circuit that punishes drivetrain weaknesses – the concern is already growing.

Bracing for more of the same

If Miami offered clarity, it wasn’t encouraging. Alonso is realistic about what lies ahead – and it’s not a sudden turnaround.

"No, let's see. I think we will make steps on that drivability point of view. Performance not, so we need to stick together with the team. It's going to be a very tough, tough race,” Alonso explained.

"It's going to feel repetitive, obviously, we need to face the media every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Even the questions, he admits, are beginning to echo.

"No, it's good and you do your job. We drive fast, but it's repetitive, the message,” the two-time world champion admitted.

“We have no upgrades until after summer, so we don't need to come to Canada [being asked] ... What we expect in Canada is the same, what we expect in Austria is the same. That's the thing that we need to manage, the frustration level from everybody in the team, but I think we are all relaxed.

"We are all committed to, after summer, having a better second half of the year. Let's see if we can do that.”

For Alonso and Aston Martin, Miami wasn’t a breakthrough – it was a reminder. Reliability may be improving, but performance remains elusive, and the road ahead looks long, repetitive, and, for now, largely unchanged.

Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix

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