Fernando Alonso will miss Thursday’s media day in Suzuka ahead of the birth of his first child. Image: XPB Images
The Aston Martin driver will skip Thursday’s media commitments at the Suzuka Circuit, with the team confirming his arrival has been pushed back for personal reasons.
“Fernando is arriving slightly later this weekend for personal family reasons and won’t be attending media day at the Japanese Grand Prix,” Aston Martin said in a statement.
“All is well and he will be at the track in time for Friday.”
Alonso and partner Melissa Jimenez had previously confirmed they were expecting their first child, with the due date falling across the Suzuka weekend.
While the two-time world champion is not set to miss the race itself, he has delayed his travel to remain at home for as long as possible.
His later arrival also comes with him sitting out opening practice on Friday, with reserve driver Jak Crawford stepping into the car for FP1.
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The outing forms part of Formula 1’s mandated rookie running, with Crawford already having previous experience in the team’s machinery.
Alonso’s delayed arrival follows a difficult start to the 2026 season for Aston Martin, with the team battling reliability concerns linked to vibration issues affecting its Honda power unit package.
The Spaniard has yet to see the chequered flag this year after retiring from both opening rounds.
Speaking ahead of their engine supplier’s home race, Honda trackside boss Shintaro Orihara admitted progress had been made, but further work remained.
“In China, we made some progress in terms of battery reliability thanks to a reduction in the vibration affecting the systems, but we must find more solutions to establish the cause of the vibrations affecting the drivers,” he said.
Alonso is expected to be back in the cockpit for second practice on Friday.
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