In the lead-up to the Mexican Grand Prix, Shintaro Orihara from Honda described the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as a track that is “very demanding for the power unit.” Despite the expectations, the weekend for Aston Martin proved complicated from the start.
During the free practice sessions, the cars showed promising pace. Spanish driver Fernando Alonso finished just 0.769 seconds off the best time set by Charles Leclerc in FP2, and the AMR26 accumulated an impressive total of 144 laps across the three sessions. However, in qualifying, things became complicated.
Although Honda had addressed some driving issues and turbo lag between FP3 and qualifying, Alonso detected “anomalous signals in the cooling systems” on Saturday afternoon. Despite finishing ahead of Lance Stroll, both drivers were eliminated in Q1, with a time four-tenths behind the cut for Q2.
During the race, Alonso and Stroll were forced to retire after just five laps due to cooling problems. Orihara commented after the race: “We already knew that with the high-altitude conditions of Mexico City, we would have to face some additional difficulties compared to other circuits.”
Orihara explained that the cooling circuit of the ERS was under greater pressure than anticipated, which forced the vehicles to be stopped at different moments. Despite having completed many laps during practice, the problems emerged during the race and qualifying.
Aston Martin’s track manager, Mike Krack, noted that reliability is a fundamental aspect that they need to improve. “It’s difficult to keep motivation high in these situations, and this year we’ve already had a tough time,” he admitted. “We’ve gone through a difficult start, but there is always a willingness to improve.”
As for the performance of the vehicles, both Alonso and Stroll had little time to demonstrate their potential. However, Alonso’s speed in fast sectors showed that the car could compete. “We are identifying the cooling problem and will work on solutions,” said Orihara.
Finally, Alonso reaffirmed his commitment to the team, despite being the seventh retirement of the season. “I’m giving my all in every lap and every preparation I do,” he insisted, demonstrating that his motivation remains intact.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_22a19067fe73fcfda69a088a82d5c8b782a3cfbd