- Aston Martin arrive in Montreal searching for proof that Miami progress was real.
- Honda identify driveability and energy management as Montreal’s 2 core challenges.
- FIA’s development relief system reaches its first review deadline at Canadian GP.
Honda has named driveability and energy management as its two main priorities for the Canadian Grand Prix, as Aston Martin looks to build on what was, by its own standards, a meaningful step forward in Miami.
The announcement comes after one of the most difficult starts to a season any manufacturer has endured in recent years.
Aston Martin’s switch from Mercedes to Honda power for 2026 produced immediate problems. Vibration from the power unit caused reliability failures and physical discomfort for both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll across the opening races.
The team failed to score a point in Australia, China or Japan. Stroll retired in all three of those races. Alonso’s best finish was 18th in Japan. Stroll described the car’s condition plainly:
“We have no downforce. We have no power. So those are the things we need to work on.”
Miami offered a first glimmer of hope
Miami changed the tone, if not yet the results. Aston Martin had left a car at Honda’s Sakura factory in Japan so engineers could isolate and fix the vibration issue.
The work paid off. When asked in Miami whether the vibrations had been reduced or eliminated, Alonso was clear: “Gone. I would say gone.”
Both drivers finished the Grand Prix in Miami for the first time in 2026. Alonso came home 15th and Stroll 17th. Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer, Mike Krack, acknowledged the step forward but kept his language measured, saying “we are still talking about modest results.”
Fixing the vibration exposed a separate problem. Alonso struggled badly with his gearbox through qualifying.
“The biggest problem for me was the gearbox,” he said. “It was impossible to drive. I lost sync in every braking point, I had no acceleration out of the corners, and the downshifts were all over the place, very random.” He described it as “a bad surprise.”
Honda’s priorities heading into Montreal
With the vibration issue resolved, Honda shifted its attention toward performance and driver confidence ahead of Canada.
Shintaro Orihara, Honda Racing Corporation’s trackside general manager, said Miami had already served an important purpose beyond the result itself.
“At the Miami Grand Prix, we confirmed our battery vibration improvements and our overall power unit reliability,” he said. “It was also a key opportunity to learn on the energy management side under the updated 2026 regulations, and this will continue in Canada.”
Orihara identified the core goal for Montreal as giving Alonso and Stroll a car they can actually push.
“In Montreal, which is Lance’s home race, we will focus on enhancing the driveability and our energy management strategy to support the drivers in building more confidence,” he said.
“If we can give more confidence to the drivers in entering the corners faster and carrying more speed, then we unlock lap time.”
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve presents its own technical demands. The track’s long straight requires precise energy deployment, while the slow-speed corners before the back straight add further complexity.
Orihara also flagged the possibility of wet weather and cool temperatures. “This can be tricky for grip, and driveability becomes even more important with a combination of MGU-K delivery, accuracy and torque delivery accuracy,” he said.
Canada also runs the Sprint format, which compresses the schedule and reduces preparation time. Orihara pointed to the opening practice session as critical.
“It’s the usual 60 minutes, so it’s crucial to optimise everything during this session,” he said.
The bigger picture: FIA lifeline and long-term recovery
There is a structural dimension to Aston Martin’s situation that goes beyond any single race weekend.
The FIA’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system, introduced under the 2026 power unit rules, allows manufacturers whose engine trails the benchmark by at least 2% to access extra development freedom.
Those 10% or more behind the benchmark can claim up to $11 million in cost cap relief per review period. For 2026 only, they can also bring forward up to $8 million from future budget allocations.
The first formal review window closes at the Canadian Grand Prix, making this weekend a key moment for Honda’s eligibility under that system.
Despite the potential financial relief on offer, the team is not expecting rapid progress. Krack has been deliberate in managing expectations.
“We have a lot to extract from this package the way it is at the moment,” he said. “It’s important that we keep everybody motivated to work on that, and then wait for the big steps to come.”
Alonso has accepted the timeline with similar patience. He says he is at “peace because I understand the situation,” and has indicated that no significant performance upgrades are expected until after the summer break.
Canada, for Aston Martin, is a weekend defined by laps completed, lessons learned, and the question of whether Miami was the start of a genuine recovery or simply a weekend when things held together.
