Honda believes its battery reliability has improved, to the point where achieving a race finish in Japan is possible.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin is off to a disappointing start to the F1 2026 season, with vibration issues severely curtailing the reliability of the car and power unit package, as well as preventing the team from concentrating on the pursuit of performance.<\/p>\n
Honda confident Aston Martin can finish Suzuka race<\/p>\n
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Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Vibration issues affecting the battery pack area of the Honda power unit have been a key focus for the Japanese manufacturer as it battles to reach a stable baseline that will allow Aston Martin<\/a> to begin unlocking performance in the AMR26.<\/p>\n For the first two race weekends, Honda has been rolling out countermeasures aimed at reducing the vibrations that have plagued its pre-season preparations, and, although improvements have been made, issues linger: Stroll retired early in the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago, while Fernando Alonso withdrew from the race halfway through, due to extreme discomfort through his hands and body from the excessive resonance.<\/p>\n The issue that forced Stroll to stop on track on Lap 9 in Shanghai wasn\u2019t related to a battery reliability issue, Honda\u2019s Shintaro Orihara explained on Thursday morning at Suzuka, as he confirmed the root cause of the stoppage has been identified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found the root cause of the issue, and we applied some countermeasures for this event,\u201d he said, when asked what countermeasures have been put in place for the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t improve, we can\u2019t change the specification for performance, but we gathered a lot of data from China, and we analysed that data and implemented our simulation to improve our energy management strategy for this event.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t explain the theory point, but we have found the issue. We did some analysis in Sakura, and we fully understand what happened, and we applied countermeasures.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the number of batteries available, following Aston Martin only having two available as the season started in Australia, Orihara declined to state how many are now available, but hinted that more are on hand as he said Honda is now \u201cconfident\u201d in that area.<\/p>\n Joined by Aston Martin\u2019s chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, the Luxembourger said both sides have worked hard together to improve the situation for Suzuka.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have worked together on different measures for mitigating both the hardware and also the driver\u2019s side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there are steps in place that obviously we need to test here and then see how we continue.\u201d<\/p>\n From a battery reliability perspective, Orihara said Honda is now confident of being able to finish the race, and Krack agreed that this \u201cremains the objective\u201d after two consecutive race weekends in which neither car has made the chequered flag.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we made a small step in that direction in China, but it was not good enough,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the objective has to be to finish with both cars.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the Japanese Grand Prix<\/p>\n Esteban Ocon receives FIA support after Chinese Grand Prix death threats fallout<\/a><\/p>\n Japan F1 race weekend: Free live stream, how to watch and start time<\/a><\/p>\n Lance Stroll: Aston Martin AMR26 has potential<\/p>\n Speaking at Thursday\u2019s FIA driver\u2019s press conference, Stroll spoke of the difficulties still facing Aston Martin.<\/p>\n With Alonso absent from media duties on Thursday due to a family matter, the Canadian offered some insight into the mentality that he and his teammate are taking into the weekends at present, knowing they are facing extensive vibrations that make their time behind the wheel unpleasant.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very uncomfortable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, at the end of the day, we just want to be much more competitive as a team. That\u2019s the most painful thing for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all pushing very hard to just bring more performance and get back in the fight where we want to be, which is up at the front of the pack.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s everyone\u2019s focus. It\u2019s just about getting there as quickly as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether there\u2019s anything he is doing to prepare for the vibrations from a physical perspective, Stroll denied that there is any lingering discomfort once he\u2019s out of the car, following on from Adrian Newey claiming his drivers were risking \u201cpermanent nerve damage\u201d when he spoke ahead of the Melbourne race weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cNot much to do physically, no,\u201d Stroll said.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we need to improve the vibration. We need to improve the reliability. But, even when we\u2019re finishing laps, we\u2019re three seconds to three and a half seconds off the lead cars.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there are a lot of things to improve. Even when we fix the vibration and improve the reliability, we need to find performance in the engine, more power, and more downforce. So a lot of areas to work on.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s just working as hard as they can to improve the situation. For sure, none of us is happy with where we are.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the start of the season that we hoped for, but it is what it is, and just working as hard as possible to improve it.\u201d<\/p>\n With Aston Martin distracted from the pursuit of performance while trying to establish a baseline of reliability and stability, Stroll said that he believes the AMR26 does have some inherent potential to be competitive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think so, yes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know we have issues on the engine side; there are areas we need to work on with the car. I think high-speed corners are still a weakness for us.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, yeah, we\u2019re just trying to improve in all areas that we can, that we know need work. And, yeah, it\u2019s just bringing performance as quickly as we can.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to improve the issues we had in China. We had big vibration problems, reliability issues, so just tackling some of those problems, and I think getting both cars to the chequered flag would already be a good step forward for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n