China, the next chapter of the Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso drama

The Spaniard spoke in advance of the second date and made it clear that he does not expect anything different from the suffering of Australia. The team avoided saying how many batteries they have in Shanghai.

The chances that Aston Martin could reverse even a small part of the pale image left in Melborune at the Chinese GP were tied to little less than a miracle considering that the first two rounds of the 2026 F1 season take place on consecutive weekends. There was no time for Honda to improve anything on its power unit in just the five days that separate the end of the Australian competition with the start of the Shanghai competition. But in case any unsuspecting person had any doubts, Fernando Alonso was in charge of removing it during the press conference he shared with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

“There is not much different to say, the situation unfortunately did not change in four days from Melbourne. Another difficult weekend is coming, in which we have to try to understand everything as best as possible, limit the laps in each session, we are short of spare parts. Any improvement in the laps we take will be important. We need laps, practice, find the ideal chassis window,” said the Spaniard, without hiding anything from the reality of Aston Martin.

Asked what would be a good weekend in Shanghai, the Spaniard was clear: “Leaving China with a normal practice, a normal qualifying and a whole race would be leaving us happy. That would be important for us to understand everything more. I hear here from Pierre (Gasly) and Esteban (Ocon) who were not performing optimally. And from the Barcelona tests they must have completed 1,000 laps and we may accumulate 100. If they are not in the best moment, imagine us.”

When asked about when Aston Martin would have a normal weekend, the 2005-2006 champion was clear and separated the answer into two parts. “It’s difficult to know. Many better ones will be arriving in the next few days. We have to push, we have very professional and talented people in the team, and I hope that in some races we will have a normal weekendwhich will be finishing the sessions and going around. Being competitive is more complicated, it will take more time. We have to climb two steps and we hope the first one arrives soon.”

Regarding the results and the points that are lost from adding in this complicated start, Alonso, 44, did not mince words: “For me, being third, fifth and 17th is the same. I have 100 podiums in the category (NdR: there are 106) so for me to finish anywhere other than first is painful. But now we have to collaborate with the team and Honda to improve.”

Adrian Newey, director of millionaire Lawrence Stroll’s team, had confessed during Friday in Melbourne that they only had two batteries left, one per car, and that a problem could leave one of the AMR26s without starting. For China, the policy changed and they avoided mentioning how the team’s weak resources are. “What’s the point of continuing to talk about the number of batteries? I don’t think we should insist again and again. We have a situation that was revealed in Melbourne, and I don’t think we should continue with this discussion about the number of batteries, if I may,” was the blunt response from Mike Krack, Aston Martin track director.