Aston Martin had to cut short their track time in pre-season testing because of a “dangerous” battery problem detected in their new engines. And suppliers Honda are worried that their issues could “drag on” well into the new Formula 1 season.

Aston Martin completed fewer laps than most of their rivals in pre-season, while there was also a clear lack of pace compared to other teams. The most concerning scenes came on the final two days of the Bahrain pre-season tests: Fernando Alonso had to pull over and abandon his car on the Thursday before team-mate Lance Stroll was limited to just a few laps on the final day due to a lack of spare parts.

Honda are racing to resolve their issues as quickly as possible in a bid to avoid Aston Martin’s whole 2026 season being compromised by it. And there is some good news out of Japan as HRC’s head of four-wheel racing Ikuo Takeishi has confirmed that they have at least identified the issue which they believe was causing their electric battery reliability problems.

He said: “The abnormal vibrations observed during testing caused damage to the battery system, which was the primary reason for the stoppage. We stopped the car because we felt it shouldn’t continue running in that state. It wasn’t that an accident was imminent or anything like that, but we stopped the car because it was dangerous.

“The power unit side is naturally investigating the cause and working on countermeasures, while simultaneously implementing measures on the chassis side. Specifically, we are currently using the Sakura battery on a bench with the monocoque mounted, actively running multiple countermeasures while conducting vibration countermeasures and analysis.”

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More worryingly, though, Takieshi went on to suggest that there will be no easy fix as he believes there is not just one single part of the car which is causing the vibrations that are doing so much damage to the battery pack – a vital component in these new F1 engines which provides around half of the engine’s total power.

He added: “The vibrations caused damage to the battery, so we cannot say whether the battery itself is the problem. You could think of it as the battery pack being shaken within the vehicle body. Essentially, the area where the battery pack is attached is vibrating. Had this been within expectations, I believe we would have made further adjustments. As it stands, I suspect we’ve encountered a rather challenging situation.

“If the cause were pinpointed to something like the transmission or the engine, it would be much easier to tackle. However, I suspect multiple components are interacting to generate the vibration. Given that, it’s unclear whether fixing one part alone will resolve it, so we can’t rule out the possibility of this dragging on. That said, purely in terms of determination, I’m absolutely intent on fixing it quickly.”

Takeishi suggested Aston Martin will struggle to compete in the first two rounds of the season, in Australia and China, pointing to the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29, Honda’s home race, as a target date for significant progress. He said: “I’m aiming to reduce the vibration before the season opener, but I intend to get the car into a competitive state before Suzuka.”