(Motorsport-Total.com) – The fourth race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season is centered around one key term for Aston Martin and engine partner Honda: “countermeasures.” Mike Krack and Shintaro Orihara each used this term several times ahead of the Miami Grand Prix (follow all units here in the Formula 1 live ticker!).
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Krack spoke on Thursday of a “package of countermeasures” that on the one hand is supposed to “simply improve” the reliability of the Aston Martin AMR26, but also the entire car. He also praised the collaboration between Aston Martin and Honda: It had been “really very good” in recent weeks.
Honda had kept an AMR26 on site after the Japanese Grand Prix to conduct various bench tests. “As a result, we have made good progress in reducing vibrations – both on the battery side of the power unit and in terms of driver load,” explained Honda engineer Orihara.
“We are now deploying these countermeasures in Miami. That is why we are very curious to see how it will affect things.”
What is different about the Aston Martin AMR26 in Miami
Although Orihara said he could “not go into detail” about the individual changes, he revealed: “We have also introduced hardware changes [to the power unit] to increase reliability.” However, this is not an isolated case: “We regularly bring mechanical updates.”
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According to Krack, the Aston Martin AMR26 will also change externally. He speaks of “several areas” and also refers to the vehicle weight. “Driveability was another major focus. External changes will then follow from race to race,” said Krack.
In his opinion, all this will lead to Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll having “fewer and fewer restrictions” in the two cockpits. “I expect the next step here in Miami,” said Krack. “But I already said in Suzuka that we must not expect miracles for Miami – and that remains.”
How frustrated Alonso and Stroll really are
Alonso and Stroll therefore still mainly need patience. Because Aston Martin is probably still far back in the Formula 1 field. “Nobody wants to be there, and that does not correspond to the level of Fernando and Lance,” said Krack.
“Therefore, there is of course a certain amount of frustration that we have to manage. At the same time, both are highly professional and trust that better times will come.”
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