After two sweet races, Fernando Alonso returned to the harsh reality at Monza. His Honda engine remains far too slow, to the point that he lost more than a second just on the straightaways against the worst teams. A situation that is starting to wear on the Asturian driver in his remarks to the press.
Although Fernando Alonso retired at Monza due to a track excursion caused by his own mistake, and Aston Martin chose to be prudent, all fingers point to Honda. And Alonso’s own as well, who has explained to the press what everyone is seeing: that the data from Monza leaves Honda in a very poor light.
Fernando Alonso Retired at Monza Due to a Track Excursion
As expected, the Italian Grand Prix proved to be a nightmare for Aston Martin. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were by far the two slowest drivers by a wide margin, both in qualifying and in the race, and neither of them was able to cross the finish line. The big problem lay with Honda’s engines.
Alonso’s Aston Martin was losing more than a second on the straights compared with the Cadillacs, which were the second-worst team in Formula 1. In light of this, Alonso believes that “we lose a lot, there is a big deficit on the straightaways. The data is there, we are not blind.” Honda must provide explanations.
While Alonso confirmed that the handling of Honda’s engine has improved at Monza, the power remains extraordinarily weak. And that is worrying given that Honda introduced an engine in the previous race, and they do not plan to add more updates for the rest of the season, despite having the ADUO.
“We have to work on the power, but we try to support each other and there are clear goals for next year,” said Alonso, who has not yet decided whether he will continue racing in 2027, but emphasizes that if he retires he will stay involved with the Aston Martin team in another role.
So now Alonso is focusing on more promising races, such as Madrid and Singapore, which are included within the next three and, being more twisty circuits, could give him some chance. Certainly, Alonso is clear that tracks like Monza, Baku or Las Vegas won’t help us, so those should be used for other purposes.
For example, Alonso changed engine parts in Monza, incurred a grid penalty and will have those new components available for the upcoming races. It’s better than nothing.
Images | Honda, Aston Martin
