Alonso delays Suzuka arrival for birth of first child

Fernando Alonso will miss Thursday media duties and Friday's first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix to be present for the birth of his first child. The Aston Martin driver will arrive in Suzuka in time for FP2, with reserve driver Jak Crawford taking his seat for the mandatory rookie FP1 outing. This personal milestone comes as Alonso and Aston Martin seek to overcome a troubled start to the 2026 season marked by two consecutive retirements.

Why it matters:

The timing highlights the balance between a driver's intense professional commitments and significant personal life events. For Aston Martin, it compounds an already challenging start to the year, forcing the team to adapt its weekend run plan while managing ongoing technical reliability concerns. Alonso's absence from FP1, though planned for a rookie run, becomes more impactful given the team's urgent need for track time to solve its problems.

The details:

• Personal Priority: Alonso and partner Melissa Jiménez are expecting their first child, with the due date coinciding with the Suzuka race weekend. The two-time champion delayed his travel to remain at home for as long as possible.
• Team Confirmation: Aston Martin stated, "Fernando is arriving slightly later this weekend for personal family reasons and won’t be attending media day... All is well and he will be at the track in time for Friday."
• FP1 Impact: Rookie driver Jak Crawford will substitute for Alonso in the first practice session, fulfilling F1's mandate for teams to run a young driver. This planned outing now occurs without the team's lead driver providing initial car feedback.
• Season Context: Alonso has failed to finish the first two races of 2026 due to reliability issues linked to vibration problems within the Honda power unit package. Honda's trackside boss, Shintaro Orihara, acknowledged progress in China but stated more work is needed to fully resolve the vibration issues affecting the drivers.

What's next:

Alonso is scheduled to take back the AMR26 for Friday's second practice session, diving straight into a compressed weekend schedule. All eyes will be on whether the team can provide him with a more reliable package for Honda's home race and if the lost FP1 track time hinders their setup progress. The weekend will be a test of the team's resilience both on and off the track.