Alonso and Stroll hit with combined 45-place grid penalty at Azerbaijan GP

Aston Martin's difficult first season with Honda hit a new low on Saturday as the FIA confirmed Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will both start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the back of the grid. The combined penalties total 45 places — 25 for Alonso and 20 for Stroll — after both drivers exceeded their engine component allocations.

Why it matters:

The Silverstone-based team has managed just three points in F1 2026, all scored by Alonso, with the campaign blighted by severe engine vibration problems early on. Starting at the back in Baku means another likely scoreless weekend for the struggling Honda-powered squad.

The details:

• Alonso has taken a fifth internal combustion engine, fifth turbocharger and ninth power unit ancillary component, accumulating a 25-place penalty.
• Stroll has taken a sixth turbocharger, seventh energy store, sixth control electronics unit and eighth ancillary component, totaling 20 places.
• Under FIA regulations, any driver exceeding 15 accumulated grid places automatically starts from the back.
• Both drivers are now expected to line up at the rear in Baku, where track position remains vital on the tight street circuit.

The big picture:

This marks another setback in Aston Martin's troubled transition to Honda power. Alonso's ninth place in the Netherlands last time out offered a glimmer of hope, but performance and reliability concerns continue to hold the team back. With both cars at the rear, Aston Martin will need incidents and safety cars to salvage anything from the weekend.

What's next:

Aston Martin now faces a damage-limitation exercise in Baku, with both drivers needing a flawless race to climb through the field. The team must also carefully manage component usage for the rest of the season to avoid further penalties at circuits where overtaking is more difficult.