Alonso and Honda, the old reliability problem returns to Interlagos

At Interlagos, Honda is once again dealing with its oldest issue: reliability. The São Paulo track sits at 800 metres above sea level and does not have the extreme altitude seen at the previous GP, but it remains one of the highest circuits on the calendar. For Fernando Alonso, the weekend comes on a track that has left him with strong memories: here he won the 2005 and 2006 titles and in 2023 he also took his latest podium.

On the eve of the weekend, Honda explained in São Paulo that it had introduced countermeasures to prevent engine failures from happening again. Alonso arrives at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace with cautious optimism: in recent races the AMR26 has seemed more competitive, starting from Sepang, while at Austin the package remained fast even with the car damaged in the race. The problem, however, remains the same: when the pace is there, you also need to reach the chequered flag.

The Spaniard also made clear what, today, the minimum level is to consider a weekend good. For him it means being between 12th and 14th, because from there points remain possible if the race takes the right turn. Alonso also pointed to the example of Ryo Hirakawa, able to score points starting from a similar position and with a pace similar to what he considers realistic for the middle of the field.

The Honda issue

The central theme, however, remains the engine. Shintaro Orihara, Honda trackside performance leader, acknowledged Alonso's frustration and admitted that in certain circumstances the power unit has lacked robustness. It is a significant admission, because it comes at a moment when the team is trying to give continuity to a package that has shown better signs in terms of pace, but without reliability it cannot turn them into a full result.

Interlagos, at least on paper, can help. Alonso sees it as a circuit that rewards cornering behaviour and chassis work, two aspects that in recent outings have given more encouraging signs. In addition, the São Paulo round has hosted the sprint for several years and this time will leave more time to work on set-up and adjustments. The priority, however, remains only one: finish Sunday’s race and see whether Honda’s countermeasures are enough to keep the old problem at bay.