Autobayng News Team
Aston Martin are only able to conduct short runs in today’s test at the Bahrain International Circuit due to ongoing problems with their power unit.
Fernando Alonso came to a stop during yesterday’s test after covering 68 laps in his Honda-powered AMR26.
Honda confirmed in a statement the team is limiting its running on the final day of pre-season testing at the circuit on Friday as a result.
“Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team,” said a statement issued by Honda.
“Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and a shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today’s run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints.”
The team later clarified it intended to conduct short runs of a few laps with around half an hour in between them. However even that appeared to be beyond the car’s capabilities as testing began on Friday: Lance Stroll covered just two laps in four hours before the lunch break.
Aston Martin have been dogged by problems with their car since it arrived late to the start of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya last month. With only half a day of testing remaining, the team has completed by far the lowest mileage of any team in Bahrain. Its 1,775 kilometres of running compares to 2,965km for the next-lowest, Cadillac, and 4,167km for standard-setters McLaren.
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