Honda says it has made tangible progress on reducing engine vibrations and improving reliability ahead of the Miami Grand Prix after an intensive five-week gap between events. The work was carried out jointly with Aston Martin following a difficult start to their 2026 partnership.
Aston Martin’s AMR26 suffered production delays and early-season performance and reliability problems, with designer Adrian Newey admitting the car was completed late. The issues left the team off the pace and struggling to finish races: so far this year the squad has been officially classified only once, when Fernando Alonso was 18th in Japan. Both Alonso and Lance Stroll also suffered significant vibration-related problems in Australia and China.
The cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix extended the break between rounds, giving Honda and Aston Martin extra time to investigate solutions in Japan and the UK. At the Miami circuit, Honda’s Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer Shintaro Orihara described the work carried out during that period, saying the team made progress at the Japanese Grand Prix that strengthened their resolve to keep improving.
One notable step after Japan was leaving an AMR26 at Honda’s Sakura facility for additional static testing — a first for the programme — focused specifically on reducing vibrations to boost reliability. Orihara said that progress allowed Honda to plan further countermeasures for Miami and future races, but warned these steps are unlikely to produce an immediate, noticeable increase in power on track.
Alonso welcomed Honda’s efforts and expressed cautious optimism: he said the team believes there is aero performance to unlock at Silverstone, while Sakura’s work is aimed at reliability, vibrations and eventual performance gains. He hopes the Miami updates will bring immediate improvements in reliability, with pace to follow later.
Stroll struck a similar tone, noting the team understands the issues and potential fixes but that manufacturing parts and fitting upgrades takes time. For Miami the immediate focus is on tackling vibrations; performance upgrades will come progressively through the season.
Aston Martin and Honda will introduce the next set of countermeasures in Miami and continue development throughout the year, prioritising reliability improvements first and chasing power and pace gains afterward.