Aston Martin should be ‘worried’ about passing the FIA’s minimum pace test at Australian Grand Prix

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Aston Martin aren’t guaranteed to clear the FIA’s 107% rule at the Australian Grand Prix, Antonio Lobato says. The team’s disastrous winter continued on Thursday.

With Fernando Alonso at the wheel, Aston Martin completed just 68 laps, the fewest in the field. The team caused a red flag for the second straight day as Alonso stopped on track early in the afternoon.

Aston have spent more time in the garage than anyone else in Bahrain, and the car has shown little promise when it has emerged. Indeed, Alonso’s best time on Thursday was a 1:37.472, 4.5 seconds off the overall pace and over two seconds adrift of newcomers Cadillac.

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That is unlikely to be the car’s true performance, but there’s no denying that Aston’s predicament looks dire just two weeks before the season-opening Australian GP.

Aston Martin must have a ‘concern’ about the 107% rule at the Australian Grand Prix

Speaking on DAZN, Spanish F1 commentator Antonio Lobato said the team should be ‘worried’ about complying with the FIA’s 107% rule in Melbourne.

The rule stipulates that a driver must be within 107% of the fastest Q1 time in order to enter a race, provided the session is dry. HRT were the last team to be denied a place on the starting grid under the regulation (Australia 2010, 2012).

Ironically, Pedro de la Rosa, now an Aston Martin ambassador, was one of the team’s drivers in the second instance.

“Obviously, I’m saying that there’s a concern about entering the 107%,” said Lobato. “At least I would be worried.”

Taking last year’s Australian GP as an example, Lando Norris set the pace in Q1 with a 1:15.912, so the 107% target would be set at 1:21.226 – 5.3 seconds off the pace.

Based on testing, Aston should be able to meet that threshold, but they are precariously close. It’s worth noting that the stewards can make exceptions, often based on lap times in free practice.

Honda haven’t delivered the engine they ‘promised’ Aston Martin

Aston Martin’s engine suppliers Honda are partly to blame for the desperate situation.

As reported by journalist Jorge Peiro for AutoNocion, Honda had ‘promised’ a more advanced power unit by this stage of the winter. The relationship between the new partners is already being tested.

• READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer is getting McLaren-Honda flashbacks watching Fernando Alonso at Bahrain testing

Honda initially planned to withdraw from F1 before the 2026 regulations took effect, and there are still holes in their operation. For instance, Peiro points out that they currently lack ‘a dedicated track engineer’ like some of their rivals.

Adrian Newey is ‘convinced’ Aston Martin will have F1’s best chassis when he solves the initial problems. But given Honda’s clear limitations, even that won’t be enough to score big results.