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Fernando Alonso was left ‘frustrated’ after being knocked out in Q1 at the Australian Grand Prix.
The first qualifying session of the 2026 Formula 1 season has been and gone as the 22 drivers fought it out for pole position at the Australian Grand Prix.
Although George Russell will start from pole position on Sunday, there were signs of progress further down the grid from Aston Martin in the first qualifying session.
Lance Stroll will start from 22nd on the grid after he failed to set a lap time during the first qualifying session of the year. However, Fernando Alonso managed to fight for a spot in the second qualifying session as he qualified in 17th place on the grid.
After all the noise, what did you think of Aston Martin’s qualifying display?
Fernando Alonso ‘unlocked’ two seconds on Saturday in Melbourne
Alonso was close to snatching a spot in the second qualifying session, but was knocked out in the first qualifying session after Franco Colapinto jumped up into the top 16.
After getting knocked out in the first qualifying session of the year, Alonso spoke to BBC 5 Live, and made his frustrations with the Honda engine clear.
The Spaniard believes that he would be fighting for the top ten if it were not for the Honda power unit that Aston Martin are using for the 2026 season.
Alonso said, “I am frustrated, the whole winter has had that feeling that there is much more to come, especially on the chassis side. We feel more or less ok in the corners, and we could be easily up there in the top ten.
“But in the winter, we could not put the laps together, but here after a more normal FP2 and FP3, we have been able to unlock two seconds because we have run, not because we invented anything last night. So, it is a matter of accumulating laps, learning, and staying united in this phase of the season.”
He added, “We are one team, we cannot separate the two things. It is no secret that the main problem we have is the power unit; we are down on power and down on real ability. We did not manage many laps over the winter, and now we are short on stock of batteries. So, we cannot do too many laps in case we have no spare parts.
“At the moment, we need to fix the power unit, and I think Aston are trying to help as much as they can, and are using a lot of resources from the chassis side to help with the engine. So, we are all together on this.”
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Adrian Newey calls on Honda to begin working on 2027 F1 engine
After switching from the Mercedes power unit to the Honda power unit for 2026, Aston Martin have become a Honda works team, but have also experienced issues with the power unit.
There have been various reliability issues with the Honda power unit, with major issues with the battery, as vibrations have prevented it from reaching full charge.
During a press conference at the Australian Grand Prix, Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey sent a clear message to Honda as he is already looking towards 2027.
Newey said, “Honda needs to start working on the ’27 engine because it’s clear that a very large step in combustion engine power is needed.”
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