Fernando Alonso has advised his Aston Martin team to retire from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix at the first sign of trouble to protect future races. The team faces severe issues with its Honda power unit, limiting them to about 25 laps in the 58-lap event. Alonso starts 17th after a double Q1 exit in qualifying.
The 2026 Formula 1 season has begun disastrously for Aston Martin at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The Silverstone-based team suffered a double elimination in Q1 on Saturday, with Alonso qualifying 17th and teammate Lance Stroll failing to set a lap time, starting last. Stroll did not leave the garage during FP3 or qualifying due to mechanical faults.
Central to the problems is the Honda power unit in the AMR26 car, which produces excessive vibrations leading to battery failures. The team has no spare parts available in Australia, restricting them to roughly 25 of the race's 58 laps on Sunday. Adrian Newey, the team's principal, highlighted the severity, noting that vibrations could cause permanent nerve damage to drivers' hands and expressing fears over battery issues.
Alonso emphasized caution, stating: “We will be flexible every lap, we will monitor the situation. As Adrian [Newey] said yesterday, we are short on parts, so there is no secret on that. And China is next week. So hopefully we can do as many laps as possible... But, the first sign that there is something potentially wrong, we cannot risk running until we make some big damage and then we compromise next week. So we will have to be very flexible.”
Despite the woes, Alonso found a silver lining in qualifying ahead of Cadillac's Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, less than a second from Q2 progression. He added: “The mechanics, they've been working flat out... So maybe that's enough to ignite a little bit of motivation in everyone in the garage.” Newey described Alonso as being in a “hard mental place” amid the struggles, praising his talent while acknowledging the late start to the team's wind tunnel program.
Alonso expressed faith in Honda's ability to resolve issues, referencing their past success with Red Bull. The team hopes to pressure the FIA for regulatory allowances to accelerate fixes, citing safety concerns.
