Chinese Grand Prix: Fernando Alonso ‘had difficulty sensing’ hands and feet in Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso began to experience a loss of sensation in his hands and feet before ultimately retiring his Aston Martin from the Chinese Grand Prix on lap 33 due to severe vibrations within the cockpit.
The vibrations are associated with a persistent issue concerning Honda’s power unit, which has resulted in several reliability challenges during testing and the initial two rounds of the 2026 season.
Prior to the opening round in Australia, team principal Adrian Newey indicated that both Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll faced the risk of permanent nerve damage in their hands if they drove more than 25 laps in the new car.
During the Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso was observed removing both hands from the steering wheel while driving at speed before he ultimately retired due to discomfort on lap 33.
“Yeah, I probably could not finish the race anyway,” he stated. “The vibration level was extremely high today.”
“From lap 20 to 33, I was having some difficulty feeling my hands and my feet.”
“We were one lap down, we were in last place. There was probably no reason to continue.”
Alonso completed 21 laps in the season opener in Australia before being instructed to retire to conserve components, but noted that the vibrations were more intense in China.
“Yeah, it was worse today than in any other session this weekend, to be honest. For reasons I don’t know.”
“Some of the adjustments we made [to improve the situation] were done artificially. I mean, just lowering the engine RPM and similar actions, so everything vibrates less.”
“However, during the race, you still need to reach higher RPMs for overtaking or recharging, or something like that. Over time, it becomes more challenging. It’s more demanding.”
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack confirmed the cause of the retirement and attempted to frame the situation positively.
“Yes, it was a [driver] discomfort,” he remarked regarding the retirement. “We completed 33 laps, which we have never done consecutively, so I consider it a new learning experience.”
“Over the weekend, we managed 19 laps in the sprint, and of course, there are breaks in between. I think he [Alonso] also mentioned that if you are competing for the win, it is feasible to drive [longer].
“We were not in a very strong position at that moment, so it was a relatively easy decision to make.”
Krack stated that Honda had implemented countermeasures to mitigate the effects of the vibrations, which appeared to provide some protection to the car, if not to the driver.
“We had some additional countermeasures here compared to Melbourne, and the work is ongoing, encompassing all areas,” he added.
“I must say we have not encountered any other issues related to that, aside from the driver stopping the race, but we have not experienced parts falling off or anything like that, which can also occur.
“So from that perspective, we need to continue our efforts, enhance the reliability of the entire package, and also focus on performance improvements.”
Source: espn.com
