Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey has dropped a bombshell at the Australian Grand Prix, revealing drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will not be able to finish the race due to the risk of developing permanent nerve damage.
The design genius made the stunning announcement at a press conference at Albert Park on Thursday morning, local time, after it was previously rumoured that the team would only run for a handful of laps due to severe problems with their underdone car.
Newey explained that the vibrations which have caused the cars’ Honda power unit to break down in preseason testing are so severe that Alonso and Stroll will damage their hands beyond repair if they race for too long.
‘That vibration is transmitted ultimately into the drivers’ fingers,’ Newey said.
‘Fernando is of the feeling that he cannot do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent damage to his hands.
‘Lance is of the opinion that he cannot do more than 15 laps before that threshold.
Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso believes he won’t be able to race for more than 25 laps in Melbourne without suffering permanent nerve damage in his hands, it has been revealed
Team principal and design guru Adrian Newey (pictured) made the stunning announcement at Melbourne’s Albert Park track on Thursday
Newey said Aston Martin’s other driver, Lance Stroll (pictured), believes he can only complete 15 laps when the race begins on Sunday
‘I think there is no point in not being open and honest in this 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 and improve the vibration at source.’
The Australian Grand Prix runs for 58 laps, meaning Aston Martin won’t even be able to complete half of the distance.
Earlier this week it was rumoured that Aston Martin could record a double Did Not Finish (DNF) following a nightmare preseason testing campaign in Bahrain last month due to engine and gearbox issues.
The team only completed a handful of laps as the car kept breaking down, with Honda later admitting there are serious problems with the power unit.
Those engine problems have led to a severe shortage of parts for the new car, and the team has reportedly reacted by raising the prospect of only running for the bare minimum number of laps in Melbourne.
F1 teams face heavy penalties for failing to line up for races, with the rumours pointing to Aston Martin sending their cars out for a lap or two, then retiring them.
But Newey’s stunning reveal means the problems are even worse than thought.
Newey dropped his bombshell just after rumours circulated that the team would only run a handful of laps in Melbourne after pre-season testing turned into a disaster (pictured, Lance Stroll with his beached car during testing in Bahrain last month)
Aston Martin could only complete a handful of laps in testing as they were struck by severe problems with the Honda engine and new gearbox (pictured)
Alonso is pictured arriving at the Melbourne track on Thursday. The two-time world champion looks to be in for a rough season – although Newey insists the car has lots of potential
On Thursday, Aston Martin released another statement from the team principal, claiming that the car should improve drastically as the season goes on.
‘What we tried to concentrate on was having a good, sound architectural package,’ Newey said.
‘I think we’ve achieved that. Therefore I believe that the car has huge development potential in it.
‘It will of course take time for us to fully realise that potential. So I think it’s fair to say that here in Melbourne, we will be behind the leaders.
‘Obviously it’s not where we want to be, but with the potential to make progress and be competitive.’
Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe also released a statement on how the problems with the power unit are being tackled – and flagging the team’s inability to run the engine at full power in Melbourne.
‘Based on the extensive dyno testing, we will introduce countermeasures now that we believe to be the most effective solutions at this stage,’ he said.
‘Only once the car runs on track will we have a full understanding of whether the countermeasures are effective.
‘So, certain limitations will be applied to the power unit operation this week.’
