Fernando Alonso’s data from the Mexico GP is amazing, even though he retired after lap 6.
Fernando Alonso had some major power unit problems during the Mexico City Grand Prix, so much so that he actually laughed over the team radio before having to stop racing on lap six. Both Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll had to pull over early in the race because Aston Martin told them there were ‘abnormal pressure levels in the power unit systems’.
Both drivers were running at the back of the pack at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Alonso managed to bring his car back to the pits, but Stroll had to stop by the side of the track, which led to a virtual safety car. With all that happening, some new data from Alonso’s race has come out—and it’s pretty surprising.
The Honda power unit’s poor performance has been a big problem for Aston Martin all season. Early on, the vibrations it caused were even considered a safety risk by then team boss Adrian Newey because the engine couldn’t last an entire race. The team has worked really hard to improve the car’s design throughout the year, and now it’s one of the easiest to drive. Still, Alonso’s fastest qualifying lap in Bahrain was 2.6 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s pole time, and Aston Martin was losing at least two seconds per lap on the straights.
In Mexico City, Alonso and Stroll were clearly slower in the first sector of the track. Except for Valtteri Bottas, who averaged 28.2 seconds, all the other drivers were running in the 27-second range. Alonso and Stroll were much slower, with averages of 28.5 and 28.7 seconds, respectively.
In the shorter third sector, Alonso was a bit more competitive, ranking 17th, but still 0.6 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, who was the fastest in that part of the track. Stroll came in 21st, only ahead of Bottas.
But the most interesting part is the second sector. Alonso had the ninth-best average time there, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who finished seventh but lost points because of a penalty.
Considering everything Alonso had against him—the weak power unit, the abnormal pressure levels, heavy fuel load, and a green track early on—it really shows how good the Aston Martin car could be if it had a better engine.
It’s also worth noting that during a red flag on lap 45, drivers were allowed to change tires on the grid. This, combined with lighter fuel loads, could have helped others beat Alonso’s sector times, but that didn’t happen.
Alonso summed up his weekend to F1TV, saying, “Hopefully this isn’t one to forget—we can learn from it. The car is very good. The problem is we just can’t do more laps with the engine. Hopefully, we learned our lesson and we’ll be better prepared next year.
“We’ll try again in Brazil. I’m doing my best every single lap, every morning, every prep, every meal—all focused on performing at my best. But I just can’t do enough laps.”
Stroll was more direct about his very short race: “An issue with the engine. We had problems for those two laps, so yeah. We’ll see how it goes in Brazil.”