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Fernando Alonso still unsure if Aston Martin can finish Chinese GP despite Honda ‘confidence’ ahead of Sprint weekend


Fernando Alonso says it would be optimistic to think Aston Martin can finish races despite a better-than-hoped-for Australian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey made a stunning revelation last Thursday when he said Alonso and Lance Stroll would be unable to complete more than half of the season-opener due to the risk of suffering permanent nerve damage from car vibrations.

Stroll did not even take part in qualifying but completed 43 of the 58 laps on Sunday, while Alonso retired after just 21 laps. A shortage of parts is the primary reason for Aston Martin’s limited running, although vibrations also remain an issue.

“We need to take the positives and move forwards. Everyone is determined to change the situation and working really hard,” Alonso told Sky Sports F1.

“I think probably from the situation we had in Bahrain, or Thursday in Australia, we are in a better position now. We tested a few things, discovered the window and chassis more than in Bahrain and we did the formation lap, the start and pit stops with both cars. All these things are normal for everyone, but we never did it in Bahrain. It was good data and we will be more prepared for China, for sure.”

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Adrian Newey breaks down how the vibration and battery issues are impacting Aston Martin

Asked if he felt he could finish this Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, the Spaniard said: “That will be optimistic but we can try. Obviously, we are still short on parts and China is only this week.

“But for Bahrain, apparently there will be more batteries and stock so for China we can take more risk on Sunday.”

Bernie on Aston Martin

Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins

“Alonso knows from where they are now, it’s not going to be different in China. He knows it’s not going to be an overnight fix.

“I was surprised at the openness of some of the stories that came out, some of the comments that came out in terms of how the drivers were suffering and how the vibrations were.

“I actually feel they did better in the race than I thought, because I expected they were going to retire pretty early. I actually had said ‘I don’t think one of them is going to make the grid’ because they had missed qualifying.

“They’d missed many sessions up to that point, sort of both cars on the grid, and then they decided to pull both cars into the garage at various points, make some changes, send them back out. And that is probably the longest long run that they have ever done.”

Honda ‘confident’ Aston Martin can complete race distance

Honda had tremendous success with Red Bull, helping Max Verstappen to each of his four world titles, before returning as a fully-fledged engine manufacturer for this season with Aston Martin.

But, Newey revealed only around 30 per cent of the original Honda team are currently working with Aston Martin which he only became aware of in November last year.

Aston Martin completed the least number of laps in pre-season testing and have the challenge of being the only Honda-supplied team, so will gain less data compared to other teams about their power unit.

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A red flag was issued during day two of the Bahrain Test after Alonso’s Aston Martin stopped on the track

Honda’s trackside F1 general manager Shintaro Orihara said: “From a Honda point of view, Australia was definitely a very important point to check the improvement of battery reliability.

“After Bahrain testing, Aston Martin and Honda worked together very hard to find a solution. And that was incredibly hard work. The guys worked long hours to find a solution.

“Then we bring some countermeasures here and checked countermeasure effect on day one. Then we found the good progress comparing to Bahrain and then we implement the countermeasure to day two and day three.

“Then on Sunday, we build up a lot of mileage. From a vibration viewpoint, we are confident to cover the full mileage in the race, so that is a big improvement from Aston Martin and Honda. That is a very key point for Aston Martin.”

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Lance Stroll and Alonso react to Newey’s fears that Aston Martin’s vibration issues could cause ‘permanent nerve damage’

Sky Sports F1’s Chinese GP Schedule

Thursday March 12
5am: Drivers’ Press Conference
8am: Paddock Uncut

Friday March 13
1.05am: F1 Academy Practice
3am: Chinese GP Practice (session starts at 3.30am)*
5.30am: Team Bosses Press Conference*
6am: F1 Academy Qualifying*
6.45am: Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 7.30am)*

Saturday March 14
2.25am: Chinese GP Sprint build-up*
3am: CHINESE GP SPRINT*
4.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notebook*
5.30am: F1 Academy Race 1*
6.30am: Chinese GP Qualifying build-up*
7am: CHINESE GP QUALIFYING*
9am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*

Sunday March 15
2.35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5.30am: Chinese GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
7am: THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
10am: Ted’s Notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 heads to Shanghai for the first Sprint weekend of the 2026 season at the Chinese Grand Prix from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime