Racing
© Liauzh
Fernando Alonso said Aston Martin’s first point of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Monaco came through chaos rather than real pace, but believes the team now understands the AMR26 well enough to launch a second-half recovery.
Aston Martin qualified on the back row in Monaco and Alonso only reached 10th after post-race penalties moved him up from 12th on the road. He made clear the result did not signal a breakthrough in outright competitiveness. “We were waiting for something to happen in front,” Alonso said, after penalties ahead opened the door to Aston Martin and Honda’s first point of the year.
That is why Alonso’s assessment of Monaco was notably harsher than the result suggested. He said there were “zero positives” from the weekend in performance terms, with the car still “very difficult to drive” and “always on the razor’s edge.” On a circuit where Aston Martin had hoped its engine deficit would matter less, Monaco instead exposed more of the car’s underlying problems.
Alonso said the team’s struggles cannot be pinned on one weakness or on the Honda power unit alone. Different tracks have revealed different faults. In his account, Australia and Bahrain exposed a lack of engine performance, China highlighted poor energy deployment, Miami and Monaco showed major gearbox issues, Monaco also laid bare chassis limitations, and Suzuka revealed aerodynamic problems at the front of the car.
For Alonso, that scatter of weaknesses is frustrating but also useful. “The good thing is that we have a very good understanding on what action is needed in each of the areas,” he said. He added that Aston Martin has chosen not to chase small fixes one by one, but instead prepare a broader package intended to address those weaknesses together.
That decision means more short-term pain. Alonso said the team must accept “another four or five races of painful results” before the bigger changes arrive, but insisted the wait is worth it because Aston Martin expects the car to change “dramatically” once the package is introduced. “I have full faith and trust on the team,” he said.
He also argued the current standings make Aston Martin look worse than its true level, because even a modest step forward would move the team back into the fight around the lower midfield rather than the rear of the field. For now, though, Alonso said the reality remains bleak despite his own form. “I feel good and I feel strong,” he said, but added that Aston Martin is currently stuck “in an anonymous situation” at the back.
That leaves Monaco as less a turning point than a marker of where Aston Martin stands: still too slow to score on merit, but finally with a clearer map of what needs to be fixed before the second half of 2026 can begin to look like a different season.