Fernando Alonso to Miss Japanese GP Media Day as Aston Martin Battles Early-Season Crisis

Fernando Alonso will arrive late to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, skipping Thursday’s media commitments as he prepares to welcome his first child.

“Fernando is arriving slightly later this weekend for personal family reasons and won’t be attending media day at the Japanese Grand Prix. All is well and he will be at the track in time for Friday,” the team stated.

Adjusted Weekend Schedule at Suzuka

As a result, Alonso’s Suzuka programme begins in earnest during FP2, where he will run alongside team-mate Lance Stroll.

Aston Martin’s Difficult Start to 2026

The timing of Alonso’s personal milestone comes amid a deeply challenging start to Aston Martin’s 2026 campaign. The Silverstone-based squad sits bottom of the championship without a point, struggling with a problematic AMR26.

At the heart of the issues is the Honda power unit, which has suffered repeated battery failures caused by excessive engine vibrations. The problem has severely limited running in both pre-season testing and the opening races of the year.

Honda’s trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara acknowledged progress but admitted the team remains far from where it needs to be.

“In China, we made some progress in terms of battery reliability thanks to a reduction in the vibration affecting the systems, but we must find more solutions to establish the cause of the vibrations affecting the drivers,” Orihara explained.

“We have also focused our efforts in the gap between China and Japan to continue to improve our reliability, but still our performance is not where we want it to be, especially regarding energy management.”

Suzuka presents an additional test.

“Suzuka is a tough track for this, so we have been using learnings from Australia and China to prepare better for the Japanese Grand Prix.”

While vibrations were reportedly reduced at the previous round in China, expectations remain tempered heading into the Japanese weekend.

Leadership Uncertainty Adds to Instability

Aston Martin’s difficulties are not confined to technical concerns. The team’s management structure is also in flux.

Following the Chinese Grand Prix, it was revealed that Adrian Newey is set to step down as team principal just three months after taking on the role. He is expected to be replaced by Jonathan Wheatley, who recently announced his departure from Audi.

With on-track performance lacking, reliability still under scrutiny, and leadership changes unfolding behind the scenes, Aston Martin arrives at Suzuka under considerable pressure. Alonso’s focus may briefly be on family, but when he returns to the cockpit on Friday, the competitive challenges facing the team will remain firmly in place.