The start of the 2026 season continues to turn into a nightmare for Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso was forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix after feeling pain related to the strong vibrations of his car.
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The Chinese weekend only accentuated the difficulties encountered by Aston Martin at the start of this 2026 F1 season. At the Shanghai circuit, the British team saw both of its cars retire before the finish, confirming a particularly complicated start.
Fernando Alonso was forced to return to the pits for good on the 34th lap of the race. The double world champion decided to retire after feeling physical discomfort caused by the vibrations of his car.
This retirement marks a new blow for the Silverstone-based team, which hoped to at least collect important data to improve its performance.
Lance Stroll retires from the start
The situation had already gone wrong for the team long before Alonso’s stop. A few laps after the start, Lance Stroll was also forced to give up.
The Canadian left the track as early as the ninth lap after what appears to be a problem related to his car’s battery. This technical failure immediately ended his race.
This incident also increases the pressure on the team’s engine supplier, Honda, as several questions begin to emerge about the reliability of certain components. With Stroll’s retirement followed by Alonso’s, Aston Martin found itself with a particularly frustrating double retirement.
Alonso mentions a vibration problem
Before leaving the race, Alonso was already running far from the points zone. The team’s objective was mainly to gather valuable information on the car’s behavior. After the race, the Spanish driver explained the reasons for his retirement.
“I felt discomfort in my hands because of the vibrations. They were coming from the battery and it became too uncomfortable to continue.”
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The team then confirmed this explanation, indicating that the car’s vibrations were at the root of the problem encountered by the driver. This phenomenon is not entirely new for Aston Martin. Even before the start of the season, the team’s director, Adrian Newey, had already mentioned this technical problem.
He had notably explained that the vibrations generated by certain elements of the car could represent a serious danger for the drivers.
“The vibrations could expose drivers to a real risk of permanent nerve damage in their hands.”
In this context, Alonso’s decision to retire as a precaution appears understandable.
A catastrophic start to the season
For Alonso, the situation is all the more frustrating as he has still not seen the finish of a Grand Prix in 2026. After two races, the Spanish driver has yet to score any points and continues to suffer from the difficulties of his car.
The Chinese Grand Prix was also marked by several withdrawals even before the start. The two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were unable to start, as were Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto.
With the two Aston Martin retirements, the field was thus reduced to only sixteen cars on track. A chaotic scenario that perfectly illustrates the particularly eventful weekend experienced in Shanghai.
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