Fernando Alonso retired in Montreal after back pain, prompting Aston Martin to review a key element of the AMR26.
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Fernando Alonso experienced another difficult weekend during the Canadian Grand Prix. The Spanish Aston Martin driver was forced to retire from the race after suffering significant back pain, a problem that could be directly linked to the design of the AMR26 cockpit.
According to Mike Krack, the British team’s track operations director, the driver’s position in the car is now at the center of concerns. Aston Martin believes it has identified a serious lead explaining the discomfort of the two-time world champion.
A physical problem that has lasted for several races
Fernando Alonso did not discover this pain in Montreal. According to explanations provided by Mike Krack, the driver has been feeling discomfort for several weekends already, without it being severe enough until now to prevent him from finishing races.
The Aston Martin official explained that the problem seems to come from a “pressure point” in the back, causing increasing pain over the course of stints. In Montreal, the situation ultimately became too difficult to bear.
However, the team waited before withdrawing Alonso from the race. As long as a weather change was possible, Aston Martin still hoped to benefit from possible rain to move up the order. Once that hope was gone, the retirement was quickly decided to avoid any unnecessary risk.
Aston Martin suspects a driving position that is too extreme
The problem could come directly from the technical evolution of modern cars. For several seasons, teams have been trying to position their drivers lower and lower in the chassis to optimize aerodynamics and the center of gravity.
But according to Mike Krack, this pursuit of performance may have reached a limit with the AMR26. Drivers are now seated in a very reclined position, almost lying down, which could increase certain physical constraints over long distances.
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“When you look at the evolution of drivers’ positions in recent years, they are increasingly stretched out in the cockpit. We need to check if we haven’t gone a bit too far,” explained Krack.
This hypothesis now leads the British team to completely reassess Alonso’s installation in the car. Changes could be made before the next rounds to prevent the problem from reappearing.
An additional concern for Aston Martin
This episode comes at a delicate time for the Silverstone team. Already struggling in terms of performance since the start of the season, Aston Martin now has to manage a physical issue directly affecting its star driver.
Fernando Alonso is going through a particularly frustrating 2026 campaign, far from the ambitions displayed by the team during the winter. Even though the structure continues to introduce developments, results are slow to follow.
The retirement in Montreal also reminds us how extreme the physical constraints imposed by the new generations of F1 remain, despite progress made in terms of safety and ergonomics.
Aston Martin now hopes to quickly resolve this seat problem before the Monaco Grand Prix, where physical demands will be even greater on such a demanding street circuit.
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