Aston Martin is confident that it could have finished the Formula 1 2026 season opener in Melbourne had it not been for a lack of spare parts.
The Silverstone outfit was the talk of the paddock heading into the Australian Grand Prix, due to how its much-anticipated Honda works’ project had suffered a disastrous start.
It completed the least mileage of any team during Bahrain testing and the little running that the AMR26 had done, led Lance Stroll to claim it was up to “four seconds off” the pace.
Those problems continued into Australia with a lot of it stemming from excessive engine vibrations, thus causing repeated battery failures leaving Aston without any spares.
So the team revealed that it was limited to 25 laps of the 58-lap contest, but it actually exceeded expectations at Albert Park with Stroll completing 41 consecutive tours without retiring - though Fernando Alonso stopped after only 21.
“It is common knowledge that we are not rich in any parts,” said chief trackside officer Mike Krack. “There was not much to gain from where we were and we took the decision together to preserve the parts.
“There were no PU related issues. We do not have a crystal ball but I am quite confident that we could have finished.”
Those thoughts were echoed by Honda general manager Shintaro Orihara, who claimed to have been confident of covering “the full mileage in the race” from a “vibration viewpoint”.
“From Bahrain to here, we have big improvement in terms of battery vibration,” he added, ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
“China, we focus to build up mileage and also gather data to improve our performance and also optimise energy management. Difficult to say if we can get big steps, but we just keep pushing hard to improve our performance.”
His comment about energy management is key as Krack also revealed that improving in said regard is the aim, with battery harvesting now playing a greater role under the 2026 regulations.
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