Honda have provided an explanation for the nightmare Mexican Grand Prix suffered by Aston Martin

The Silverstone team, who are powered by the Japanese manufacturer, endured an awful weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both retiring after just five laps due to what the team described as 'abnormal pressure levels in the PU systems.'

It followed a highly frustrating qualifying session on Saturday when Alonso, who looked like he had a chance of reaching Q3 for the first time this season, was forced to stop on track with a suspected water pressure issue linked to the ERS system.

Even in Friday practice the team had power unit issues, with reserve driver Jak Crawford suffering ERS problems during the first session.

Alonso could barely contain his anger after qualifying, giving a short nine-word interview before joking he was skipping the race and heading straight to the next race in Brazil.

Honda: We underestimated Mexico challenge

Honda though have offered an explanation to the multiple failures, admitting that the challenge of cooling the car in the high altitude and thin air was a bigger problem than first anticipated.

Chief engineer Shintaro Orihara said: "We knew that with the special high-altitude circumstance of Mexico City, we would face some additional challenges compared to other racetracks for the cooling."

"However, we found that our ERS cooling circuit was under heavier stress than anticipated, and this is why we had to stop the car in different sessions.”

"Despite completing a series of laps during the practice sessions, the issue occurred [in the race] and during qualifying...”

Orihara though insisted that Honda have gained plenty of information and learned lessons in their first year back in the sport, insisting that solutions are being worked on.

He added: "At each race this year, we need to learn for 2027, even the hard lessons," he said. "We have a lot of data that we can bring back to this circuit next year, including on the turbo lag, and we will work on the solutions."

Despite high hopes at the start of the year to be running at the front, Aston Martin sit second bottom of the constructors' championship, with Alonso picking up all seven of the team's points.