Aston Martin’s tough 2026 season continued in Azerbaijan where neither car saw the chequered flag again.

Fernando Alonso spent much of his race swapping positions with Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas. However problems from his Honda engine eventually led to his retirement – a call which Alonso appeared to make for himself on lap 21 of 51. Lance Stroll had already parked the other AMR26 14 laps earlier with a loss of water pressure.

Lap: 2/51 ALO: 1’52.833
Alonso	Bottas passes Alonso Seven tenths in one straight.
Lap: 3/51 ALO: 1’52.798
Vizard	Can do mode four for defending, mode four, for defending
Lap: 5/51 ALO: 1’51.698
Vizard	Pink eight, position nine, pink eight, position nine.
Vizard	Mode seven, Fernando, mode seven, give you a bit more down to turn 16.
Lap: 6/51 ALO: 1’51.414
Vizard	You have got to overtake that time, you’ve got it.
Lap: 7/51 ALO: 1’51.414
Vizard	Pink 11, position four, pink 11, position four.
Lap: 8/51 ALO: 1’52.144
Vizard	Can you just check aero balance?

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Lap: 9/51 ALO: 1’52.344
Alonso	There was a strange yellow flag in 15, for one second.
Vizard	Copy Fernando, we’ll check, copy.
Vizard	We have lost the overtake.
Lap: 10/51 ALO: 1’51.315
Vizard	Consider diff mid four.
Lap: 12/51 ALO: 1’52.387
Alonso	K0 doesn’t work on the main straight, what’s going on?
Vizard	Fernando, I’m afraid it’s not working. We were trying to figure it out, but it doesn’t work on the main straight, it will work elsewhere.
Vizard	Do mode five, mode five, that’ll do it for you, mode five. Alonso passes Bottas on straight to turn three
Lap: 13/51 ALO: 1’51.300
Vizard	[Unclear] one K0 now.
Vizard	And also out of 12, use it out of 12.
Vizard	And then if you can, go back to mode four, mode four.
Lap: 14/51 ALO: 1’53.215
Alonso	Bottas repasses Alonso approaching turn one Yeah, 1.1 second on the straight, I think the engine is not running clean or something, it cannot be possible.
Vizard	Mode five and we try again Fernando, mode five.
Lap: 17/51 ALO: 1’51.374
Vizard	K0 when you can, K0.
Vizard	Mode four, mode four.
Lap: 18/51 ALO: 1’52.115
Alonso	Bottas repasses Alonso approaching turn one I think there is an engine problem, it cannot be this gap.
Vizard	We think mode five, maybe this time we’ll just stay in mode five. Alonso passes Bottas on straight to turn three
Lap: 19/51 ALO: 1’52.037
Vizard	[Unclear] where you can.
Lap: 20/51 ALO: 1’57.927
Alonso	Bottas repasses Alonso approaching turn one, Alonso passes Bottas on straight to turn three Yeah, I think we have an engine problem. It was eight tenths of a second now.
Vizard	K0 where you can. We are checking Fernando, but nothing we can do at the moment.
Alonso	Yeah but, I think we will box at the end of this lap. I’m sorry.
Alonso	Alonso pits Pit entry.
Vizard	Stop on the marks.

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2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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