{"id":517932,"date":"2026-03-06T10:14:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517932\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:14:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:14:45","slug":"fernando-alonso-disappointed-with-lack-of-honda-spares-as-aston-martins-f1-australian-gp-in-doubt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517932\/","title":{"rendered":"Fernando Alonso “disappointed” with lack of Honda spares as Aston Martin\u2019s F1 Australian GP in doubt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fernando Alonso<\/a> is disappointed by Aston Martin no longer having spare batteries for its Honda power unit in what has been a disastrous start to its 2026 Formula 1 campaign.<\/p>\n

The Silverstone outfit entered a works\u2019 deal with Honda for the new regulation cycle this year, but vast problems have arisen in the buildup to the first race due to excessive vibrations in the engine.<\/p>\n

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Aston has continuously suffered battery failures as a result, and the situation is now so dire that team boss Adrian Newey revealed it doesn\u2019t have any spares for this weekend\u2019s Australian Grand Prix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It therefore puts the squad at risk of not starting the Melbourne contest but even if it did, its AMR26 is believed to be restricted to just 25 of the scheduled 58 laps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are okay to do it,\u201d Alonso told Sky Sports. \u201cIt’s more a question for Honda if they have a stock.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cObviously, I feel disappointed to not have a stock,\u201d he then said on F1 TV, \u201c[with Honda] only supplying one team, but this is the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing\"Fernando<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n

The two-time F1 champion consequently skipped FP1 at Albert Park before completing just 18 laps in second practice, where he was 4.933s off the pace with Aston clearly the championship\u2019s worst team.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much learning, to be honest,\u201d said Alonso, whose team-mate Lance Stroll<\/a> did 16 laps across both sessions and was also several seconds behind.<\/p>\n

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\u201cUnfortunately, the Honda issue in FP1 and some Honda issues as well in FP2, a little bit limited our number of laps today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not needed again because we need to recover a little bit in terms of understanding the car as well and the window of where this car operates.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we brought a completely new package into this race and we need to understand where to run that package in terms of set-up. We didn’t manage too many laps today, so hopefully a cleaner FP3 tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The problems at Aston have long been known after it conducted limited running in pre-season testing, but more and more has come out across this Melbourne weekend.<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing\"Fernando<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t know until November, for example, that the Honda workforce was largely new and inexperienced following its split from Red Bull, and Newey is already telling the Japanese marque to focus on next year.<\/p>\n

What arguably makes it worse is that Aston ditched the highly competitive Mercedes<\/a> engine for Honda, but there are also issues on the chassis side as it started its wind tunnel programme four months late.<\/p>\n

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But the team, and Alonso, are putting on a brave face as the Spaniard said: \u201cWe are much less negative than media and people around. It’s nice to tell the story when someone is doing great and when someone is doing wrongly or things are not going well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou try to exaggerate both ends and we know where we are. As I said yesterday, we have a big challenge in front of us but everyone in the team is embracing the challenge in a way and trying everything we can to go out of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Formula 1, unfortunately technology is very complex and things require a little bit of time and we are running every day on free practises and every week grand prix to grand prix and maybe we don’t see the progress that we all want to see.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut there are things happening, smaller or bigger, but there is always progress. So let’s hope that it’s visible in lap time as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos from Australian GP – FridayOscar Piastri, McLaren\"Oscar<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Quinn Rooney \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Quinn Rooney \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Lily Zneimer\"Oscar<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Lily Zneimer<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls\"Liam<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alexandra Leclerc\"Alexandra<\/p>\n

Alexandra Leclerc<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1\"Esteban<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1<\/p>\n

Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing\"Isack<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Quinn Rooney \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin\"Lawrence<\/p>\n

Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin<\/p>\n

Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls\"Liam<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

Jayce Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes\"Andrea<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Sam Bagnall \/ Sutton Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes\"Andrea<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Sam Bagnall \/ Sutton Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Sam Bloxham \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1\"Esteban<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1\"Esteban<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly, Alpine\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly, Alpine<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly, Alpine\"Pierre<\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly, Alpine<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Edie Piastri\"Edie<\/p>\n

Edie Piastri<\/p>\n

Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing\"Isack<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Bill Ford, great-grandson of Ford founder Henry Ford\"Bill<\/p>\n

Bill Ford, great-grandson of Ford founder Henry Ford<\/p>\n

Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mercedes mechanics at work\"Mercedes<\/p>\n

Mercedes mechanics at work<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams<\/p>\n

Peter Fox \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren\"Oscar<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Steven Tee \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Mark Sutton \/ Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Oscar Piastri, McLaren\"Oscar<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes\"George<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Sam Bloxham \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team\"Nico<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team\"Nico<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Mark Sutton \/ Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls\"Andrea<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

Lars Baron \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team\"Esteban<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team\"Esteban<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams<\/p>\n

Peter Fox \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls\"Arvid<\/p>\n

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Sam Bagnall \/ Sutton Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Sam Bagnall \/ Sutton Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing\"Sergio<\/p>\n

Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing<\/p>\n

William West \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Car of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes\"Car<\/p>\n

Car of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Sam Bloxham \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sergio Perez, Cadillac F1 Team\"Sergio<\/p>\n

Sergio Perez, Cadillac F1 Team<\/p>\n

Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing\"Max<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes\"George<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Steven Tee \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes\"George<\/p>\n

George Russell, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Steven Tee \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Alexander Albon, Williams<\/p>\n

Paul Crock \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Mark Thompson \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams<\/p>\n

Quinn Rooney \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing\"Fernando<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls\"Liam<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team\"Gabriel<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes\"Andrea<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Lars Baron \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team\"Oliver<\/p>\n

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team\"Oliver<\/p>\n

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team\"Nico<\/p>\n

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team<\/p>\n

Andy Hone\/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Lando Norris, McLaren\"Lando<\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren<\/p>\n

Mark Thompson \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing\"Lance<\/p>\n

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n

Andy Hone\/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mercedes: Aston Martin made \u201cconscious decision\u201d not to use our F1 engines anymore <\/a><\/p>\n

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fernando Alonso is disappointed by Aston Martin no longer having spare batteries for its Honda power unit in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[2676,3032,585,3016,49,26292,48,3025,578,3018,576,577,3484,86874,3030,1882,2190,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-517932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-adrian-newey","9":"tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","10":"tag-aston-martin","11":"tag-aston-martin-racing","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-cadillac-racing","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-charles-leclerc","16":"tag-f1","17":"tag-fernando-alonso","18":"tag-formula-1","19":"tag-formula1","20":"tag-getty-images","21":"tag-haas-f1","22":"tag-oliver-bearman","23":"tag-red-bull","24":"tag-red-bull-racing","25":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}