Fernando Alonso has revealed details of when Aston Martin will retire from the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso and Aston Martin are enduring a nightmare weekend in Albert Park, as reliability issues from new power unit supplier Honda continue to cause issues.
Qualifying proved no different, with teammate Lance Stroll unable to take part in Q1 due to another power unit issue, and Alonso was knocked out.
Honda has just two batteries remaining for the rest of the weekend in Australia, while extreme vibrations from the power unit mean only a maximum of 25 laps can be completed.
Alonso has now revealed when Aston Martin is going to retire from the race, the Spaniard revealing the team is planning on monitoring the cars after lights out.
“We will be flexible every lap, we will monitor the situation,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“As Adrian [Newey] said yesterday, we are short on parts, so there is no secret on that.
“And China is next week. So hopefully we can do as many laps as possible, hopefully we can do nearly the whole race.
“But, the first sign that there is something potentially wrong, we cannot risk running until we make some big damage and then we compromise next week. So we will have to be very flexible.”
Encouragement in a nightmare?
Alonso provided some comfort in a difficult situation, qualifying ahead of both Cadillac drivers, a feat he said would bring encouragement to the Aston Martin garage.
“I don’t think it does change anything, but it may change a little bit in the garage,” added Alonso. “The mechanics, they’ve been working flat out and changing power units day and night the last six weeks.
“So even on the other side of the garage, with Lance being so unlucky in FP3 and quali with zero laps, when you go on track and you are in the mix with a few cars, it’s a little bit better than being dead last, as we were yesterday.
“So maybe that’s enough to ignite a little bit of motivation in everyone in the garage. And that’s probably part of our job now as drivers to keep the morale of the team high in difficult moments.”
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