Aston Martin records double finish

Aston Martin’s Miami weekend was not a breakthrough in the usual Formula 1 sense. There was no points finish, no surprise strategy call, no leap up the order. But both cars finished — Fernando Alonso in P15 and Lance Stroll in P17 — and for this team, right now, that actually is the story. After a brutal start to 2026, just seeing the chequered flag with both cars mattered. (formula1.com) ### Why is a P15 and P17 finish news? Because Aston Martin had spent the opening stretch of the season fighting its own car more than its rivals. The AMR26 and new Honda power unit package had been hit by severe vibration and reliability problems, and the team racked up four retirements across Australia, China and Japan. Miami was the first race where both Alonso and Stroll completed the full distance. (formula1.com) ### What was actually broken before Miami? The big problem was vibration from the Honda power unit, and it was serious enough to wreck race weekends. Alonso and Stroll had limited running early in the season because the (formula1.com) so far on the back foot. (formula1.com) ### So what changed in Miami? The five-week gap before Miami gave Aston Martin and Honda time to work on countermeasures. Honda kept one AMR26 chassis in Sakura for static testing and focused on reducing vibration and improving reliability. The result was modest but real — the vibration issue improved enough that Aston Martin could finally run a full Grand Prix without the same kind of failure derailing both cars. (formula1.com) ### Did the car get faster too? A little, but not enough to change the team’s position. Alonso said there was progress on the reliability side, and the team also talked about small performance gains through the weekend. But the pace picture stayed harsh — Aston Martin still qualified near the back and finished well outside the points. The team itself was pretty blunt that there is still “a big gap to close.” (formula1.com) ### Why does reliability come first? Because pace is useless if the car cannot finish. Basically, Aston Martin had to stop the bleeding before it could think about upgrades, setup gains, or strategy. A midfield team can survive being a few tenths slow for a while. It cannot survive constant retirements. Miami looked like the first weekend where the floor stopped falling out from under them. (formula1.com) ### What did the race itself show? It showed that Aston Martin can at least operate normally again. Stroll ran a two-stop race, Alonso stretched his first stint longer and stopped on Lap 41, and both made it to the end without the reliability drama that had defined the first rounds. Alonso also said he had some proper on-track fights again, which sounds small, but turns out even that had been missing. (astonmartinf1.com) ### What still looks worrying? The lack of outright pace. Honda had already warned before Miami that its fixes were not expected to create a visible jump in performance. That is exactly how it played out. Aston Martin solved enough to finish, but not enough to fight for points. So the team’s next challenge is different now — less emergency repair, more actual car development. (formula1.com) ### What’s the bottom line? Miami did not prove Aston Martin is back. It proved Aston Martin is at least functioning again. For a team that began 2026 unable to complete races, that is a necessary first step — and only a first step. (for([formula1.com)2bwt8K3Epwi))