Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll was seen in a public exchange with Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps. The interaction occurred before the start of a Belgian Grand Prix that proved to be exceptionally difficult for the team.
The weekend was one of the team’s toughest in the 2026 season. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll started from the back of the grid after receiving substantial penalties for exceeding their allocation of power unit components.
Performance issues plagued the team throughout the event at the high-speed circuit. Stroll eventually retired from the race on lap 25 due to a car issue, while Alonso could only manage to finish in 19th position.
This public display of unity between the two leaders is not the first during this challenging season. A similar interaction occurred at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Honda’s home race, where Stroll and Watanabe were photographed shaking hands on the grid.
Following the event in Japan, team principal Mike Krack clarified the gesture. He stated there was no need for a ‘peace’ offering as the relationship with Honda remains strong despite the difficult start to their works partnership.
‘There was no need to make peace, because we have a good relationship. We have a lot of respect for Honda, and we have seen how much work went into the issues we are having.’
The team’s struggles this season have been significant, with reliability and performance problems hampering their progress. Stroll himself previously described the troubled start to the Honda partnership as ‘very unexpected’.
Aston Martin had anticipated that the Belgian Grand Prix would be its most challenging weekend of the year. The team is focused on enduring this period before a significant upgrade package arrives for the next race in Hungary.
That B-spec car will be followed by a power unit update from Honda, which is scheduled for the Dutch Grand Prix immediately after the summer break.
