Fernando Alonso will miss media day at the Japanese Grand Prix and arrive at Suzuka later in the weekend after traveling to be with his partner, Melissa Jimenez, for the birth of their first child, Aston Martin said. The team confirmed Alonso would delay his arrival until Friday and skip Thursday media commitments; BBC Sport reported that Melissa Jimenez has given birth, while other reports noted her due date fell during the Suzuka weekend, so accounts vary on whether the child was born before Alonso travelled.

To cover Alonso’s mandated rookie-session appearance, Aston Martin will run reserve driver Jak Crawford in FP1 at Suzuka, an outing team principal Mike Krack called “an important opportunity to gather data and driver feedback.” The team said the change was a personal scheduling matter rather than a fitness issue, that Alonso would be on track in time for Friday running and FP2 alongside Lance Stroll, and that he remains scheduled to compete in the race.

The announcement comes amid a difficult start to 2026 for Aston Martin. The Honda-powered AMR26 has suffered battery failures tied to excessive engine vibrations, and Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll retired in China and Australia, leaving the team bottom of the championship after two races. Honda said it has made some reliability progress but still lacks power and energy deployment ahead of Suzuka, and outlets warned the unresolved vibration issues add technical uncertainty at the fast, technically demanding Suzuka circuit.

Sources