Honda send clear message as Aston Martin smash through stumbling block

Honda has described Aston Martin's double Q2 appearance in Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying as "a step in the right direction," after Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both progressed beyond Q1 for the first time this season.

Alonso will start Sunday's race at the Sepang International Circuit from P12, with Stroll two places further back in P14. The pair went through Q1 in P14 and P15, respectively, before their elimination in Q2.

It marks just the second time this season that an Aston Martin driver has reached Q2, after Alonso's solitary appearance at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July. This is the first occasion both cars have managed it together.

The result comes amid a troubled campaign for Honda and the Silverstone-based squad, their first together as part of a works team partnership.

Even the manufacturer's Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) tokens have failed to significantly move the needle.

After a considerable step forward for the AMR26 chassis at the Hungaroring, where 16 individual upgrades were delivered, a Spec 2 engine arrived at Zandvoort, followed by a revised turbocharger introduced quietly at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.

But ahead of the round in Sepang, Stroll was blunt about the scale of the shortfall, estimating that the Honda power unit costs Aston Martin as much as two seconds per lap at power-sensitive circuits with long straights, such as Baku and Monza.

Honda maintain all is 'working as expected'

Honda's trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said the Japanese car giant's preparation between sessions had been central to the Sepang result.

"After FP2, we did a lot of data analysis alongside HRC Sakura, with all the feedback helping us prepare for FP3 and then qualifying," Orihara said after qualifying.

"Even in this morning's session, we were working to make the necessary energy management and driveability improvements, especially for the updated turbocharger.

"Our package overall is working as expected, despite the hot and humid conditions."

Orihara added that the Sepang result carried wider significance for the Honda-Aston Martin project after a difficult year of integration issues, including battery reliability failures during pre-season testing and persistent vibration problems with the power unit.

"The qualifying result is a step in the right direction for Honda, with it being the first time that both cars have made it into Q2," he added.

"Our attention now shifts to preparing for all eventualities tomorrow, including the threat of rain. We will be ready for all racing scenarios to maximise our results."