Fernando Alonso has delivered a defiant response to the current problems Aston Martin is facing, despite the difficulties the team faces ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Aston Martin shocked the F1 paddock with the admission that its new Honda power unit is vibrating excessively to the point that it is endangering its drivers.
Team Principal and Managing Technical Partner Adrian Newey detailed the issue on Thursday, admitting that the team can only run 25 laps in Australia before it plans to retire both cars.
An extreme decision, it outlines the level of disaster currently plaguing Honda, as Sunday’s race is being treated as a test bed for an interim solution to the crisis created in Sakura.
Speaking on Thursday, Alonso detailed the sensations from inside the cockpit, the violent vibrations risking causing nerve damage to the 45-year-old.
“Yeah, I mean, for us it’s just vibrating everything, but it’s not only for us, I think the car is shrugging a little bit,” he admitted to media, including Motorsport Week.
“So that’s why we have some issues, some reliability problems that make our days a little bit short, so yeah, the vibrations coming from the engine are hurting a little bit the components in the car and the drivers, we feel them, we feel our body with this frequency of the vibrations that you feel after 20 or 25 minutes, a little bit numb.
“I think is the word, on your hands or your feet or whatever, so yeah, it has been a challenge, but every day in Sakura they 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, so yeah, curious to see what tomorrow we can improve and we can feel.”
Fernando Alonso: ‘If we were fighting for wins, we can do three hours in the car’
Elaborating on his experiences of driving the car, Fernando Alonso confirmed he is not in pain while driving the car, with a key factor behind it, and issued a brave rebuttal to the challenges the car currently gives him and team-mate Lance Stroll.
“No, not painful, it’s not difficult to control the car,” he said. “I mean the adrenaline is just way higher than any pain.
“If we were fighting for the win, we can do three hours in the car.”
“Let’s be clear, so I think that overcomes anything when you are on the car, you don’t have a limitation that will stop you feeling the car or what you are doing, but definitely it is something that is unusual, it shouldn’t be there and we don’t know the consequences either if you keep driving like that for months.
“So a solution has to be implemented and, as I said, everyone is trying every day in Japan to fix the things, so we are here to help as well.
The Spaniard then reiterated his belief that Honda can get on top of its issues and repeat the successes it achieved with Red Bull in the ground-effect era.
“Well I think I have 100% faith that Honda will fix the problems because they did it already in the past and they will always be competitive and a top engine in Formula 1,” he said.
“As you said, the thing is probably the time that is required and it is not matching with my time in my career and that is something that remains to be seen.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to know exactly when problems will be fixed, so yeah we will go race by race and month by month and let’s see, hopefully we can see improvements in the short term and that will help my decision as well for next year.
“Yes, I think it looks more difficult on the outside, which is understandable as well, high expectations for Aston, I agree on that, but I think we know what we are doing, we know the limitations on the car as well.
“As Adrian probably said this morning, we started a little bit behind when he joined the team and he changed a little bit the philosophy of the car, and now we already expected that the launch car was a little bit down, and also maybe the first couple of races.
“But I think he knows what to do in the car, and what to fix in the car, and what areas are [underperforming], and some others have more potential, so it seems that we have a clear direction on the chassis, and I am not concerned about that.
READ MORE – Aston Martin reveals drivers’ ‘permanent’ health risk at F1 Australian GP
Discussion about this post