Aston Martin: No need for peace talks with Honda amid F1 2026 misery

Aston Martin has insisted there is no need to “make peace” with Formula 1 engine supplier Honda following its disastrous start to the 2026 season.

The Silverstone-based outfit has been beset by a myriad of problems with new engine partner Honda that have contributed to a nightmare start to the 2026 campaign.

After vibration issues prevented Aston Martin from finishing the opening two rounds in Australia and China due to driver discomfort and fears of permanent nerve damage, Fernando Alonso finally saw the chequered flag at Honda’s home race in Japan, albeit a lap down in 18th.

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack insisted the poor start to the season has not impacted the relationship between the team and Honda.

“There was no need to make peace because we have a good relationship,” Krack  told media including Crash.net on Sunday at Suzuka.

“We came here, we know this is the home race of our partner. We have a lot of respect for Honda and we have seen how much work went in to the issues we are having.

“So it was also a matter of respect for us to try everything we can to finish the race. We discussed that before, as we discuss over the next weeks and so on. There is no need to make peace because there is no issues.”

Aston Martin removed vibration counter-measure fix

Countermeasures brought to Japan helped cure most of the vibration issues on the AMR26 at Suzuka, but Aston Martin had to remove the fix after discovering it could not be raced.

“We had some counter-measures here to go further. There was one issue, we tested something in the sessions, which was a small improvement, but we could not race it,” he explained.

“Bringing new parts always brings a risk, so you need to consider that when you make reliability decisions. They were new parts, so we decided not to go into the race with them, but I think it shows some promise.”

Aston Martin and Honda are confident they can take advantage of the unplanned break in April following the cancellation of the Middle East double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to address the issue before the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May.

“It is a topic we will have to continue to work on with our partner, and I am quite confident that for Miami we can do a step that [means] we are not speaking about it anymore,” Krack added.