Aston Martin still far from its goal in Miami

There are tough Fridays, and then there's Miami. Lance stroll et Fernando Alonso Both drivers were eliminated in the first segment of Sprint qualifying, without even managing a decent timed lap. Both AMR26s suffered from front wheel lock-ups throughout the session — the Canadian driver briefly stopped in the run-off area of ​​Turn 16 before returning to the pits with obvious brake problems, without having set a single time.

The two-time world champion had his best lap deleted for exceeding track limits. His surviving time of 1:32.490 only placed him 21st anyway — beyond the last classified competitor. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac). Fernando Alonso was more than ten seconds behind. A gap that, in Sprint qualifying, cannot be explained by a simple setup error.

Less bad, but still very far away

The day did, however, deliver one positive sign, the only one: engine vibrations, a recurring problem since the start of the season, seem to be easing. Honda has made adjustments since the Japanese Grand Prix, and the Spaniard acknowledged this unequivocally: "There was less vibration than in Japan and during the first races. There were some adjustments to the engine. In terms of performance, we didn't touch it, so we're probably still a long way behind the others."

Even worse, whileAston Martin While it gained in reliability, its competitors advanced in performance. "They've improved their car since Japan, and we've only improved our reliability. In terms of performance, we're still a step behind them." This discrepancy in development pace is perhaps the most worrying element of the weekend. Lance Stroll, for his part, chose a more measured tone in his official reaction: "There's a lot to watch and work on tonight before tomorrow."

Slower than an F2

The day produced a statistic that will go down in history for all the wrong reasons. The best time recorded by an AMR26 in sprint qualifying was slower than the worst qualifying time of Formula 2 — a series that, let's remember, was competing in its very first weekend at this circuit. This means that Mari Boya, Aston Martin's junior driver competing in F2, was faster than the team's two regular drivers on this opening day, with a time of 1:40.554 compared to 1:41.311 for Fernando Alonso. As a reminder, the fastest F2 qualifying time, set by Kush Maini, was a lap of 1:39.888.

The team clung to the sheer volume of data collected—nearly 60 laps completed during Free Practice 1—to justify its superficial optimism ahead of the rest of the weekend. The Spaniard concluded with a lucidity that sounded more like resignation: "Our program for the year will be a little different from others. That's why we need to remain calm now." The Miami Grand Prix continues this Saturday with the sprint race, followed by the main race on Sunday. Barring a dramatic turn of events, which is difficult to predict given today's conditions, Aston Martin will likely focus on minimizing damage and gathering data for the development of the AMR26 — a car whose true potential remains, for now, untapped on the track.

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