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Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin are making progress in getting the AMR26 ready, but there is still a long way to go before they are competitive.
Alonso secured a P15 finish at the Miami Grand Prix, marking Aston Martin’s best performance in a race this season.
Recently, there has been chatter about Alonso’s future in F1 given Aston Martin’s struggles. While a P15 finish isn’t going to quell that chatter, it does show that Aston Martin have improved slightly.
When will Aston Martin score their first podium of the Adrian Newey era?
And will they get one at all?
Alonso wants to stay until Aston Martin turn things around, hoping to end his career on the right note and not be at the back of the pack.
But Fernando Alonso remains optimistic about Aston Martin’s chances, even though the team do need some time before they introduce major upgrades.
READ MORE: Fernando Alonso is critical of Ferrari ‘luxury’ no other F1 team has amid Miami Grand Prix concerns
Fernando Alonso reveals when Aston Martin expect to introduce upgrades to fix their problems
Speaking to ESPN after the race, Fernando Alonso was asked to give his thoughts on the new regulation changes and how they impacted the quality of racing.
He noted that the new upgrades haven’t had a significant impact on Aston Martin yet, as they won’t be bringing major upgrades till his home race at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“It doesn’t affect us because we don’t have any new upgrades planned for Canada. I don’t think we’ll have any upgrades until Race 12.
“In other words, the fewer practice sessions there are in the first part of the season, the better.”
Honda’s Miami GP upgrades didn’t make much of a difference, but did allow them to complete the race without any significant vibration issues.
READ MORE: F1 fans think ‘freak of nature’ Fernando Alonso can still perform amid retirement comments
Should F1 teams help Honda and give them extra upgrades in 2026?
Aston Martin hoping for effective upgrades to improve their form
There is concern that helping Aston Martin and Honda could backfire for other teams, given Honda’s track record with Red Bull.
Honda have a reputation for making comebacks despite not starting out well. Their poor track record with McLaren had everyone writing them off, but they managed to turn things around with Red Bull.
The hope is that Honda can pull off an even quicker comeback this season and help Aston Martin begin competing with the rest of the pack.
Of course, trying to make that type of jump before the end of this season might be considered overly optimistic.
But Honda and Aston Martin have no choice but to operate with this optimism to try and get the best out of their partnership.
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