Fernando Alonso says there is "extra hope" for Aston Martin at the Monaco Grand Prix

Aston Martin's disastrous start for the 2026 Formula 1 season is well documented, as the team's AMR26, despite earlier promise, turned out to be a lemon.

Extreme vibrations from the Honda power unit meant the team couldn't even finish races at the start of the season, and while the Japanese manufacturer insists developments to reduce the vibrations are working, the overall performance of the AMR26 is still way off the pace of the midfield, let alone the front of the grid, which is where the team should be fighting given the huge investment of Lawrence Stroll and the design services of Adrian Newey. 

In Canada, Aston Martin, with Alonso, had a decent start as the Spaniard almost made it into SQ2 in Sprint Qualifying while running in the top ten early on in the Grand Prix before retiring with car issues.

Alonso reflected: “We had a good start and we were fighting into the top 10 positions. We made the right call starting on the soft tyres, with a few others opting for intermediates and then having to pit early. Unfortunately, we had an issue with the seat in the race, so we decided to retire the car.

"We seemed to be faster here than we were in Miami with the same package. We need to wait for performance to come with our upgrades around the summer break, but we will look to keep optimizing this package until then," he added.

With the Monaco Grand Prix up next, power requirement will not be an issue around the streets of the principality, and Alonso believes Aston Martin has some reason for hope.

He said: “Monaco is next—a very different circuit, very slow. The engine will be a little bit less important there, so maybe extra hope for Monaco.” (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)