Why Aston Martin has warned its drivers of  ‘permanent nerve damage’ at F1 Australian GP

Aston Martin have sparked panic after the revelation their drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, are at risk of “permanent nerve damage” if they drive too long during the Australian Grand Prix.

Team principal Adrian Newey underlined that there is a limit of 25 consecutive laps and exceeding that number could leave the Spanish driver with lasting damage in his hands.

While the 44-year-old’s teammate, Stroll, maintains his limit is set at 15 laps due to the same issue.

It has created concern over the team’s potential in 2026, despite huge investment from Canadian billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, and the eye-catching hire of Newey to mastermind the team’s rise to championship contention.

So why would Alonso and Stroll be at risk and how has it come to this point for Aston Martin to fall so far behind their rivals already?

What is the problem for Aston Martin?

The cars are causing vibrations on the AMR26 car. Stroll, 27, described the sensation as like “electrocuting yourself in a chair.”

The shock revelation was divulged in a media session on Thursday morning in Melbourne, with team principal Newey speaking alongside Honda executive Koji Watanabe. Aston endured a torrid pre-season testing period and were only able to complete a handful of laps due to issues with their new power unit provider.

Newey also admitted that the team are likely to be unable to complete the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, detailing: “We are going to be heavily restricted by how many laps we can do in the race, due to the vibrations [of the car].”

Newey, the F1 design guru who joined from Red Bull last year, did insist that he believes the chassis side of the car is the fifth-best on the grid, adding that the team are targeting Q3 in qualifying on Saturday — even if they cannot finish Sunday’s 58-lap race.

What has Newey had to say about the problem?

In a 15-minute media session with regular microphone issues throughout, Newey said: “The vibration into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems: mirrors falling off, tail lights falling off, all that sort of thing, which we are having to address.

“But the much more significant problem is that the vibration is transmitted ultimately into the drivers’ fingers. So Fernando is of the feeling that he can't do more than 25 laps consecutively before he risks permanent nerve damage to his hands.

“Lance is of the opinion that you can't do more than 15 laps before that threshold. It's something that, unfortunately, Koji and I haven't had a chance to discuss properly prior to this [media] meeting.

“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.”

How have the drivers reacted?

Alonso, however, played down the concerns. While acknowledging the issues, the two-time world champion believes any “adrenaline can overcome the pain” he feels in his hands.

“The vibrations coming from the engine are hurting a little bit, the components on the car, and you know, the drivers,” he said. “We feel them. We feel our body. With this frequency of the vibrations, you feel a little numb after 20 or 25 minutes, they work on your hands or your feet or whatever.

“It has been a challenge. But every day, they [Honda] try to find solutions. And I think since Bahrain, there were a couple of tests done and some of the solutions are implemented on the car now. I’m curious to see what we can improve tomorrow.

“It’s not painful, not difficult to control the car. I mean, the adrenaline is just way higher than any pain. You know, if we were fighting for wins, we can do three hours in the car. I think that overcomes anything. When you are in the car, you don't have a limitation that you will stop you feeling the car or what you are doing, but it is something that is unusual.

“It shouldn't be there and yet we don't know the consequences either, if you keep driving like that for four months. So you know, a solution has to be implemented.”

Stroll added: “It's a very uncomfortable vibration and it's bad for the engine - but also the human inside the car.”

What is the cause of the issue?

Reports before this week’s season-opener indicated that Aston could withdraw their cars in the opening laps of Sunday’s event. It remains to be seen whether Aston will race in 25-lap or 15-lap stints to finish the grand prix.

Aston only switched to Honda engines this season, after ending their partnership with Mercedes, who are believed to hold the strongest engine at the start of the new season.

Honda has previously worked with Red Bull, powering Max Verstappen’s period of dominance. Despite the early-season difficulties, Newey remained optimistic about the season ahead, insisting they can be at the front “at some point this season.”

Is all hope lost?

Not necessarily, Newey is still optimistic about the car’s overall potential this season.

But given Newey only started working at Aston Martin in March last year, with the design philosophy completely changed, meaning the team were unable to use a model in their new wind tunnel until mid-April, forcing them to play catch-up to their rivals, who had up to four months head start in the aerodynamic development.

“I look at our package and I don't feel as if we've particularly missed anything,” said Newey.

“So therefore I believe that the car has huge tremendous development potential in it.

“It will take of course a few races for us to fully realise that potential. We've got quite an aggressive development plan underway. So I think it's fair to say that here in Melbourne we are a bit behind the leaders.

“Probably I would say maybe we're the fifth best team, so sort of potential Q3 qualifiers on the chassis side. Obviously not where we want to be, but with the potential to be upfront at some point in the season.”