(Motorsport-Total.com) – All fans of Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso should not get their hopes up that the racing team will still turn things around in the 2026 Formula 1 season. At least expert Martin Brundle expects that the rest of the year will also be “painful.”
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“It is a nightmare, no matter how you look at it,” says the former Formula 1 driver to Sky and explains: “They lack both speed and reliability.” Aston Martin is currently in eleventh and last place in the championship.
Even Formula 1 newcomer Cadillac has started the season better, while Alonso has only seen the checkered flag at one Grand Prix so far. Teammate Lance Stroll has not finished a race at the first three race weekends at all.
“And in times of ruthless Formula 1 calendars and cost caps, it will be very difficult to change that in the remaining time,” fears Brundle, who sees not only Aston Martin itself but especially engine partner Honda as responsible.
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“At Honda, they have to bring in the right people and take the right course,” demands Brundle, who also bluntly emphasizes: “Nothing will improve until 2027. It is a nightmare, and we will just have to watch this misery.”
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“Of course, they will improve to some extent,” suspects the former teammate of Michael Schumacher, “but sometimes they are three, four seconds off per lap. Compared to the top teams, that is almost like a different category.”
Most recently in qualifying at Suzuka, Alonso and Stroll occupied the last two places. Alonso was just under 3.9 seconds off the pole time set by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, Stroll even over 4.1 seconds. In Q1, the deficit to the best time was around 2.7 and 3.0 seconds respectively.
According to Brundle, such a large deficit cannot be made up this year. In principle, it is possible to close such a gap, “but it will take a while,” warns Brundle.
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