Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey has suggested it is unlikely that either of the team’s cars will be able to complete Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix due to concerns that vibrations could cause serious damage to drivers.
During two pre-season test events in Bahrain last month, it emerged that the team was having major problems with the Honda power unit that was initially supplied in a new partnership with the Japanese manufacturer for 2026.
The extent of the problem became clear on Thursday morning in Melbourne when New Way held a press conference with Honda executive Koji Watanabe, revealing that vibration issues with the power unit were not only impacting the functionality of the car, but also the safety of drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll during Sunday’s 58-lap race.
Newey said: “Fernando feels he can’t do more than 25 laps in a row because he risks permanent nerve damage to his hands. Lance doesn’t think he can do more than 15 laps before that threshold.”
“I don’t think it makes sense to (not) be open and honest about our expectations at this meeting (press conference). Unfortunately, Koji and I did not have the opportunity to properly discuss this prior to this meeting.”
Alonso says he felt numb due to Aston Martin’s vibrations
“Until we find the source of the vibration and fix it, we will have to very severely limit the number of laps we can do in the race.”
Along with his concerns for the drivers, Watanabe also admitted that Honda is unable to run its power unit at full capacity due to vibration issues.
Watanabe said, “During the pre-season test in Bahrain, unexpected vibrations occurred and damaged the battery-related parts of the power unit, so we were unable to achieve the mileage we had originally targeted.
“Honda and Aston Martin engineers are working closely as one team to develop and evaluate multiple countermeasures.
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Lance Stroll spins out during a lockup and goes off course, bringing out a red flag!
“Based on extensive testing, we will be introducing from this week the measures that we consider to be the most effective at this stage. However, their effectiveness under real track conditions is not yet fully guaranteed. Therefore, certain conditions will apply to the operation of the power unit this week.”
“Honda and Aston Martin will continue to work closely together as one team and further measures are already under consideration. As such, we are unable to share technical details, but we appreciate your patience as we continue to work to maximize performance potential.”
Problems were expected, given that F1 is introducing a completely new power unit for the first time since 2014 and the sport is making a move towards more electricity to become more sustainable.
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Ted Kravitz has explained why Aston Martin is concerned engine vibrations could cause “permanent neurological damage” that could prevent Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from completing the race in Australia.
However, while Red Bull and Audi, who produced engines for the first time, appear to be competitive, it is a big shock that Honda, which led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to four consecutive championships from 2021 to 2024, made such a big mistake.
Watanabe said he could not give a time frame on how long it would take for Honda to bring its power unit up to a competitive level, as he made the worrying admission that he had not yet discovered the “root cause” of the problem.
“Of course we want to do it quickly, but it’s very difficult to say when and how at this point,” he said.
Newey’s first season looked like a disaster for Aston Martin, but Newey insisted the team maintain faith in their engine supplier.
“Do we believe in the ability of our partner Honda to increase its power and increase its competitiveness? Of course it does. They have a proven track record and we have full confidence in them,” he said.
Stroll compares it to ‘electrocution’ | Alonso explains ‘numb’ feeling
Although Alonso and Stroll downplayed the level of pain caused by the vibrations, their attempts to describe the sensations they experienced in the cockpit during testing underscored the seriousness of the situation.
“It’s like sitting in a chair or something and getting an electric shock, and I don’t think it’s that far away. It’s a very unpleasant vibration. It’s bad for the engine, it’s bad for the people in the car. We have to get through this, and we will.” Stroll said.
Alonso added: “Dear drivers, we feel them as well, and we also feel a little bit of numbness in our fingers and feet because of these low frequencies all the time in the car.”
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On the second day of testing in Bahrain, Alonso’s Aston Martin stopped on the track and a red flag was brought out.
Newey had low expectations for Sunday’s race, but Alonso expressed hope that the solutions found since Bahrain could get him to the checkered flag in Melbourne.
“I want to finish the race first,” he said. “It is true that in Bahrain and Barcelona we faced unusual vibrations coming from the engine. I think that is understood. Since Bahrain there have been some solutions on the dyno, so I hope we will have a better feeling in FP1.”
“After the changes made last week, we are optimistic that we can have a more normal weekend. If we can finish the race in an unexpected way, it will be a good first race of the year.”
Stroll added: “It all depends on how much we have improved since Bahrain. If we still have the same vibration problems that we had with the car in Bahrain, it will be difficult to do more than 10 to 15 laps.”
“If we can resolve those issues over the past few weeks, I think we can make further progress in the race. Time will tell.”
Sky Sports F1 Australian GP Schedule
Thursday, March 5th
9:45pm: F3 practice
10:55pm: F2 practice
Friday, March 6th
1am: Australian GP Practice 1 (Session starts at 1:30am)*
2:55am: F3 Qualifying*
3:30am: Team boss press conference
3:50am: F2 Qualifying*
4:35am: Australian GP Practice 2 (session starts at 5am)*
6:15am: F1 Show*
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Grammy-nominated Tate McRae’s ‘Just Keep Watching’ will be the new title track of Sky Sports’ F1 coverage from this season onwards as F1 enters a new era
Saturday, March 7th
0.10am: F3 sprint*
1:10am: Australian GP Practice 3 (session starts at 1:30am)*
3:05am: F2 Sprint*
4:10am: Australian GP qualifying build-up*
5am: Australian Grand Prix Qualifying*
7am: Ted’s Qualification Notebook*
9:45pm: F3 Feature Race*
Sunday, March 8th
12:20am: F2 Feature Race*
2:30am: Preparation for Australian Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: Australian Grand Prix*
6am: Australian Grand Prix reaction: Checkered flag*
7am: Ted’s Notes*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP Highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
