bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

Aston Martin has predicted it is unlikely to finish Formula 1’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday without its drivers risking suffering permanent nerve damage.
Adrian Newey, the F1 car design great who’s heading into his first race as Aston Martin’s team principal, said the team’s Honda power unit causes vibrations which could damage the hands of drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Neither is likely to be able to tolerate even half of the 58-lap race distance, he added.
Aston Martin had a poor pre-season, often slower even than new team Cadillac, and it logged the fewest laps of all 11 teams.

“That vibration into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems,” Newey said.
“Mirrors falling off the air, tail lights falling off, that sort of thing, which we are having to address. But, the much more significant problem with that is that that vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver’s fingers.
“So Fernando is of the feeling that he can’t do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands. Lance is of the opinion that he can’t do more than 15 laps before that threshold.
“We are going to have to be very heavily restricted on how many laps we do in the race until we get on top of the source of the vibration – and to improve the vibration at source.”
Despite the long list of issues, Newey says the AMR26 car has tremendous potential as F1 starts a new era of regulations.
He argued the chassis is F1’s fifth-best behind the expected top teams Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull and that, following an aggressive development programme, has the potential to run at the front at some point in 2026.
Alonso, though, is keeping the faith until Friday practice in Melbourne, where he believes fixes on the car might provide a sunnier outlook.
“For us, it’s just vibrating everything,” the two-time F1 champion said. “But it’s not only for us. The car is struggling a little bit, so that’s why we have some issues, some reliability problems that made our days slightly short.
“Since [pre-season testing in] Bahrain, there were a couple of tests done and some of the solutions are implemented on the car now, so I’m curious to see what happens tomorrow and if we can improve.”
Its disappointing performance has been variously attributed to a compressed design time because of late arrival, Honda’s need to rebuild its research and development capabilities after leaving Red Bull, the challenge of producing a new in-house gearbox and the team running a so-far unproven fuels partner in Aramco.
But it’s the side effects that is likely to sideline its cars early in Sunday’s race at Albert Park.


Aston Martin says car risks giving drivers ‘nerve damage’ and can’t finish F1 season-opener

Wings, power units, sons of DRS: a rough guide to Formula 1 rule changes for 2026

New rules, same old suspects as Formula 1 season set to be among most intriguing

5 watch moments in February 2026 – from Bafta wrist candy to Dua Lipa and Jungkook’s new roles

Formula One (F1)

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey believes his F1 car has huge potential, despite the early problems. Photo: Reuters

Mechanics work on the car of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Photo: AFP

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso taking his new-look Aston Martin out for pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit last month. Photo: dpa

The rear wings of a Ferrari driven by Lewis Hamilton at pre-season testing last month. Photo: AFP

Rivals says Mercedes are exploiting a power unit loophole. Photo: Reuters

A crew member walks past images of drivers as teams prepare for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. Photo: AFP

McLaren’s Lando Norris will be defending the world title. Photo: Reuters

Mercedes’ George Russell is rumoured to be the favourite because of the rule changes. Photo: Reuters

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen grumbled publicly in Bahrain about the new cars. Photo: Reuters

Sport

Motorsport

Vibrations caused by Honda power unit could damage hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll over course of race


Vibrations caused by Honda power unit could damage hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll over course of race.


Honda

Aston Martin says car risks giving drivers ‘nerve damage’ and can’t finish F1 season-opener

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Vibrations caused by Honda power unit could damage hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll over course of race

Vibrations caused by Honda power unit could damage hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll over course of race