Fernando Alonso feels that the Aston Martin team are “embracing the challenge” posed by their early-season struggles, with the Spaniard hopeful that the progress within the squad will be “visible in lap time as soon as possible”.
The British outfit and engine partner Honda have been open about the issues that have limited their running so far in 2026, having experienced less mileage than their rivals during pre-season testing while the team’s lap count was also lower on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.
However, while Alonso was unable to participate in Free Practice 1, both he and team mate Lance Stroll gained time on track at the Albert Park Circuit during the second hour, with Alonso recording 18 laps in the latter.
Reflecting on the day’s running later on, Alonso admitted that the team “still need to catch up a little bit in the weekend programme”, as he voiced his hope of having a “cleaner” Free Practice 3 on Saturday.
When asked if he can see light at the end of the tunnel with the issues, the two-time World Champion sounded a positive note as he responded: “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.
“This is Formula 1 – unfortunately technology is very complex and things require a little bit of time. We are running every day in free practice and every week, Grand Prix to Grand Prix, and maybe we don’t see the progress that we all want to see.
“But there are things happening – smaller or bigger, but there is always progress in the team, so let’s hope that this is visible in lap time as soon as possible.”
Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack also acknowledged that Friday had been a “difficult day” for Aston Martin but that this was “to be expected after our difficulties that we had in winter testing”, adding: “If that is the situation, you try to do the best out of the situation.”
Krack felt that the squad could take learnings from the mileage they achieved during second practice, with all teams continuing to adapt to the new technical regulations introduced for 2026.
“Every lap that you do, you learn – you see what you could have done better in that lap or in your settings, and we are playing catch-up with that,” Krack explained. “And that is something that we need to be aware of, that when you don’t drive the others are learning lap-by-lap and you are in the garage watching them.
“It’s a difficult situation, but I think a small step was made between session one and session two, because we were on track so we could get a little bit of data that we’ll have to go through tonight, and then see what we can get out of it tomorrow.”
