HONDA The Power of Dreams

P18

DNF|Lap 30

At 3:10 pm on March 29, the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the 2026 season, was held under cloudy conditions, with an air temperature of 16°C and track temperature of 36°C. A crowd of 130,000 attended Suzuka Circuit, with the race taking place alongside peak cherry blossom season.

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (AMAF1)) started from P21 on the grid, with teammate Lance Stroll lining up in P22. Both cars started the race on medium tires.

Both drivers made clean starts, with Alonso gaining one position to complete Lap 1 in P20. Stroll also made progress, moving up to P21 by Lap 2. On Lap 8, Stroll moved ahead of Alonso, with the two cars swapping positions.

A Safety Car was deployed on Lap 21 following an on-track incident. Both AMAF1 cars took the opportunity to pit on the same lap, switching to hard tires. During the Safety Car period, both drivers pitted again, returning to medium tires. The race resumed on Lap 28, with Stroll in P19 and Alonso in P20.

After completing 30 laps, Stroll pitted with a technical issue and retired. Running in P19, Alonso continued consistently through the latter stages of the race. As several cars ahead encountered issues, he moved up to P18 and took the checkered flag, securing the team’s first finish of the season.

“Finishing the race here in Suzuka today shows clear progress for the team, and that's a strong positive we should take from the weekend. While we didn't have the pace, it was still enjoyable to gain valuable mileage and to race with Lance. We'll now analyze the data across both Silverstone and Sakura and continue pushing development, so we have a better understanding heading into Miami.”

“I was enjoying the race today, even though we were not competitive and battling for the last few positions. Suzuka is always a fun track to drive so it was a shame we couldn't make it to the end. We still need to investigate, but it looks like a water pressure issue on the ICE. I was having a fun race up until that point, defending from Fernando, but it's clear we have a lot of things to work on and need to find a lot of speed. We know the issues we have so it's about tackling those as quickly as we can."

“The objective today was to complete a race distance, which we achieved with Fernando in P18. That is a significant moment for the team and our technical partner, Honda, at their home race. We have shown reliability is improving, but the water pressure issue on the ICE of Lance’s car [on Lap 30] shows there is still much work to be done. It’s also clear the performance level of our package is far from where it needs to be and we must work hard to deliver improvements. I want to thank the drivers for their determination and racing spirit today.”

“Today in Suzuka we completed the full race distance with Fernando’s car which is a first good step in terms of reliability. In recent weeks, we have been working hard with the team to improve this area. In addition, we’ve been enhancing our engine performance and optimizing our energy management strategy.

“We gathered a lot of data today by finishing the race with Fernando, and this gives us more information to help us move forward. We will focus on this over the next four weeks before going to Miami.

“Racing in front of our home crowd with Lance and Fernando was special, and it has been touching to see the banners and messages of support over the Japanese Grand Prix.”