Formula 1 Race Countdown

Race 15 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku | 24th–26th September 2026

Double Retirement at Baku Deepens Aston Martin’s Reliability Concerns

Aston Martin’s difficult 2026 Formula One campaign suffered another setback at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both retired from Saturday’s race after starting from the back of the grid. Having already accepted substantial penalties for additional Honda power-unit components, the team arrived at the start knowing that Baku’s exceptionally long straights would expose the AMR26’s continuing performance limitations. The weekend ultimately delivered an even greater disappointment, with Stroll stopping after seven laps because of a water-pressure problem and Alonso retiring after completing 20 laps when his car began losing significant time on the straights.

The double retirement followed another scoreless weekend in Madrid and left Aston Martin tenth in the Teams’ Championship with just three points after 15 rounds. At the front, George Russell converted pole position into his third victory of the season, surviving two Safety Car periods and a determined late challenge from Max Verstappen to win by just 0.196 seconds. Isack Hadjar completed the podium on his return to racing for Red Bull, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli recovered from a difficult qualifying session to finish fifth.

Baku Exposes Aston Martin’s Straight-Line Weaknesses

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was always expected to present Aston Martin with a particularly demanding challenge. Baku combines slow, technical corners with an exceptionally long full-throttle section, placing competing demands on aerodynamic efficiency, mechanical grip and power-unit performance. The circuit’s main straight was particularly unforgiving for an AMR26 that had already struggled at Monza, where the Aston Martin-Honda package’s straight-line limitations were exposed throughout the weekend. Although the aerodynamic developments introduced in Hungary had provided encouragement at Zandvoort, Baku offered another opportunity to assess how much progress had genuinely been made.

Thursday’s opening practice sessions did little to improve the outlook. Alonso finished 19th in FP1, setting a 1:47.835, while Stroll was 21st with a 1:48.547. Both drivers initially ran on the hard compound before switching to mediums, giving the team an opportunity to assess the car’s behaviour around the demanding street circuit. FP2 proved more complicated for Alonso, whose session was interrupted by a suspected oil leak midway through the afternoon. He completed only nine laps and finished 22nd, while Stroll managed 24 laps and placed 21st. Although Aston Martin collected 79 laps across Thursday’s two sessions, the interruption to Alonso’s programme reduced the data available at a circuit where confidence and familiarity are particularly important.

Power-Unit Changes Bring Substantial Grid Penalties

Aston Martin had already decided to introduce additional Honda power-unit components for both cars, accepting that the changes would result in substantial grid penalties. Alonso received a new internal combustion engine, turbocharger and other components beyond his permitted seasonal allocation, with a further energy-store change adding to his penalty before final practice. Stroll also exceeded his allocation for several components, including the turbocharger, energy store and control electronics. The penalties effectively guaranteed that both Aston Martins would start from the back of the field regardless of their performances in qualifying.

The decision reflected the difficult circumstances facing Aston Martin and Honda during their first season together under Formula One’s new technical regulations. Introducing fresh components provided the team with an opportunity to continue its development and reliability work, but Baku was hardly the ideal venue to sacrifice track position. Overtaking opportunities exist along the enormous main straight, yet the narrow sections through the old city make traffic particularly costly, while a car struggling for straight-line speed can find itself vulnerable even when it performs reasonably well through the corners.

Both Aston Martins Eliminated in Q1

Friday’s final practice session and qualifying confirmed that Aston Martin remained towards the back of the field. Alonso finished 20th in FP3 with a 1:46.512, while Stroll was 22nd after completing only nine laps. The Canadian had also made contact with the barriers during the session, adding another complication to a weekend in which the team was already managing its power-unit changes. With the AMR26 struggling for both power and downforce around Baku, there was little indication that qualifying would produce a substantial improvement.

Alonso ultimately set a 1:46.593 to qualify 19th, while Stroll recorded a 1:47.337 and finished 21st. Neither driver progressed beyond Q1, leaving Aston Martin with another disappointing qualifying performance following its difficulties at Monza and Madrid. Once the grid penalties were applied, Alonso was relegated to 21st and Stroll to 22nd. At the front, Russell produced an outstanding 1:42.526 to claim pole position, finishing 0.837 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri and Hadjar occupied the second row. Championship leader Antonelli also had a difficult afternoon, crashing at Turn One during Q1 and leaving himself 16th on the starting grid.

Stroll’s Race Ends After Seven Laps

Both Aston Martins started Saturday’s 51-lap Grand Prix on the soft compound, with the wind having eased and track temperatures warmer than during qualifying. From the final row, Alonso and Stroll faced the difficult task of making progress against cars with greater straight-line performance, while hoping that Baku’s reputation for unpredictable races might provide opportunities through strategy or incidents elsewhere. At the front, Russell made a strong start from pole position and began establishing an advantage over Piastri, while Verstappen and Hadjar worked their way through the leading group.

Aston Martin’s race began to unravel almost immediately. Stroll completed just seven laps before the team instructed him to stop because of a water-pressure problem. The Canadian managed to park his AMR26 in a safe position, avoiding the need for a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car, but his early retirement ended any possibility of recovering from 22nd on the grid. The failure was particularly frustrating because Aston Martin had already introduced additional power-unit components, yet another technical problem had prevented the car from completing even the opening phase of the Grand Prix.

Alonso Loses Speed Before Aston Martin Withdraws His Car

Alonso continued as Aston Martin’s sole remaining representative, but his afternoon was proving equally difficult. The Spaniard became involved in a battle with Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac, although the AMR26’s lack of performance along Baku’s long straights made sustained progress increasingly difficult. With the leading cars gradually building their advantage, Alonso was already facing an uphill struggle to reach the points when he began experiencing an additional loss of speed. Rather than risk continuing with a suspected technical problem, Aston Martin eventually called him into the pits and retired the car after 20 completed laps.

The precise cause of Alonso’s retirement has not yet been confirmed. Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack reported that Alonso had experienced suspected power-unit difficulties and was losing time on the straights, while the team also committed to investigating the water-pressure problem that ended Stroll’s race. The distinction is important: Aston Martin’s underlying performance deficit had been apparent throughout the weekend, but Alonso’s eventual retirement involved an additional problem beyond the car’s established lack of pace. Neither driver reached the halfway point, leaving the team without a meaningful opportunity to assess how its race strategy might have developed as the Grand Prix became increasingly unpredictable.

Safety Cars Transform the Battle for Victory

While Aston Martin’s race ended early, the contest at the front was gradually developing into one of the closest finishes of the season. Russell had controlled the opening phase after converting pole position into the lead, with Piastri initially occupying second while Verstappen and Hadjar worked their way through the field. The Red Bull drivers demonstrated strong race pace, particularly as the opening stint progressed, but Russell had established an advantage approaching ten seconds by the halfway point and appeared to have the Grand Prix under control.

The complexion of the race changed when Alex Albon locked up and crashed into the barriers at Turn Six, prompting the first Safety Car. The interruption allowed the leading drivers to make their pit stops while reducing the time lost relative to their rivals. Red Bull executed a double stop for Verstappen and Hadjar, while Russell retained his advantage at the front. When racing resumed, Verstappen moved ahead of Piastri into second, but the restart produced further drama behind them. Franco Colapinto locked up approaching Turn One and collided with his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who subsequently made contact with Lando Norris. All three drivers retired, forcing Race Control to deploy a second Safety Car while marshals cleared the damaged cars.

Russell Holds Off Verstappen in a Dramatic Finish

The second restart placed Russell under considerably greater pressure, with Verstappen now directly behind the Mercedes and determined to challenge for victory. Russell initially retained control, while Piastri suffered a costly mistake at Turn One and dropped out of podium contention. Antonelli, meanwhile, had recovered from 16th on the grid and continued climbing through the points, eventually passing Lewis Hamilton to secure fifth place. With the two Red Bulls running second and third, Verstappen began closing on Russell during the final laps as both drivers pushed their cars to the limit around Baku’s unforgiving street circuit.

The contest remained unresolved until the final metres. Russell briefly lost power after lifting for yellow flags caused by Bottas’s late accident, allowing Verstappen to close dramatically along the main straight. The Red Bull drew alongside as they approached the finish, but Russell held on to win by just 0.196 seconds, securing his third victory of 2026 and reducing Antonelli’s Drivers’ Championship advantage to 66 points. Hadjar completed an excellent return with third place, followed by Leclerc and Antonelli, while Hamilton finished sixth. Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten. Russell also recorded the fastest lap of the race, setting a 1:44.916 on Lap 49.

Another Weekend Without a Complete Race Programme

For Aston Martin, the late-race drama only emphasised what had been lost through its early retirements. Baku eventually provided exactly the sort of unpredictable afternoon that teams starting from the back might hope to exploit, with two Safety Car periods, several accidents and significant changes throughout the order. There is no guarantee that either Aston Martin would have possessed sufficient pace to challenge for points, particularly given the difficulties apparent during qualifying and the opening laps. Nevertheless, neither driver remained in the race long enough to benefit from the opportunities that subsequently developed.

The more immediate concern is the combination of continuing performance limitations and recurring reliability problems. The substantial development package introduced in Hungary appeared to improve the AMR26’s behaviour, and Alonso’s ninth-place finish at Zandvoort demonstrated that the team could still compete for points under favourable circumstances. Monza subsequently exposed the car’s straight-line weaknesses and produced a double retirement, while Madrid brought another weekend disrupted by mechanical problems and race damage. Baku has now added two further technical retirements, leaving Aston Martin with insufficient clean running to establish whether the latest changes are delivering the progress it needs.

Krack acknowledged that the team had limited opportunities to compete on outright pace in Azerbaijan and confirmed that both retirements would require investigation. With eight Grands Prix remaining, Aston Martin remains tenth in the Teams’ Championship on three points, all scored by Alonso, who sits 19th in the Drivers’ standings. Stroll remains 21st and has yet to score. The immediate priority is therefore not simply finding additional performance from the AMR26, but ensuring that both cars can complete a full race weekend and generate the data required to make further progress.

Sepang Provides an Immediate Opportunity to Regroup

Formula One now heads directly to Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on 2nd–4th October, the second meeting of a demanding triple-header that continues with Singapore the following weekend. The short turnaround gives Aston Martin limited time to investigate the problems experienced in Azerbaijan, establish whether further corrective measures are required and prepare both cars for a circuit with a very different combination of corners, braking zones and weather conditions. The team must also balance those immediate reliability concerns against its ongoing programme of aerodynamic and power-unit development.

Baku leaves Aston Martin facing an increasingly familiar challenge. The potential demonstrated by the Hungary upgrade and Alonso’s points finish at Zandvoort has not disappeared, but neither has it translated into consistent performance or reliability. Following another double retirement, Aston Martin needs a weekend in which the AMR26 can operate without major interruptions, allowing the team to assess its development work and give both drivers a realistic opportunity to compete. With the 2026 season entering its final eight rounds, that opportunity now moves to Sepang.