Fernando Alonso has been critical of Honda this season, but one moment in the United States Grand Prix will give Aston Martin hope.

Aston Martin were unable to close the gap to Williams in the F1 Constructors’ Standings during the United States Grand Prix, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finishing in P15 and P16.

Alonso started up in P12 but ended up falling backwards rather than fighting forwards. The Spaniard has often been the first to point the finger at Honda’s underperforming power unit this season.

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Fernando Alonso moment left Damon Hill stunned

While Alonso failed to score points in Austin, he certainly didn’t have an uneventful race.

In fact, early on, Alonso found himself battling with compatriot Carlos Sainz for position. When Alonso was following Sainz’s Williams, he ended up making an easy pass down the pit straight.

Damon Hill, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, was shocked at how easy Alonso’s move looked.

“That is extremely surprising to see from a team complaining all the time about the lack of power. Alonso getting past the Williams ,which is also quite good in a straight line.

“There is more to this. When we are watching the racing this year it’s about the deployment of power around the circuit, battery charge, state of charge and also their ability.

“When we saw the Virtual Safety Car come out, I think they were all enabled to do something about their battery charge. They’re all finding it much harder to attack, it was like an instant change.”

Aston Martin can take positives from Honda performance

It’s clear that Aston Martin are not where they want to be, and much of their disappointment this season can be attributed to their engine.

But there are promising signs moving forward.

Honda hope to add 50 horsepower for 2027, and it seems they are already making progress with their power unit development.

Overtaking a very slow Williams is not something to shout about for Aston Martin, but considering they are powered by the Mercedes power unit, there are positives to take for Honda.