Both Aston Martins retired after five laps of the Mexico Grand Prix because cooling problems put the cars’ power units under excessive stress, Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said after the race. He said the high-altitude conditions in Mexico City created additional cooling demands, and the ERS cooling circuit was under more strain than expected.
The failures followed problems in qualifying, when Fernando Alonso reported abnormal signals in the water systems. Honda had also worked to address driveability and turbo lag between the final practice session and qualifying. Despite completing 144 laps across the three practice sessions, the issue returned during qualifying and the race.
Orihara said the reduced air density at altitude also highlighted a turbo-lag challenge. Previous power units used the MGU-H to support the turbo, but the newer, simpler units no longer include that component. Honda plans to use the data gathered in Mexico to work on solutions for next year, including improvements related to turbo lag.
Aston Martin’s Mike Krack said the car could have been competitive on the circuit’s slower corners if the team could control driveability. Alonso likewise said the car was strong but could not complete enough laps because of the engine problem. The Mexican race was his seventh retirement of the season.
Sources: Autosport.