Overview
- Aston Martin’s brief relief in practice vanished at Suzuka when Fernando Alonso reported the vibrations were back for qualifying, and the team ended up 21st and 22nd on the grid.
- Honda says the new power unit showed low vibration on test benches but produced much larger vibrations once installed in the AMR26 chassis on track.
- The company reports its countermeasures have eased stress on the battery and recent running is no longer damaging it, yet the driver-facing vibrations still come and go.
- Alonso earlier described losing feeling in his hands and feet before retiring in China, while Lance Stroll said his Chinese GP stoppage was a battery issue Honda said was not linked to vibration.
- Honda and Aston Martin engineers are now working together on the car–engine interface after limited pre-season track time and bench tests failed to reproduce the full on‑car behavior.