Fernando Alonso did not retire from F1 Canadian GP with mechanical issue or a power unit issue with Aston Martin Honda, but due to seat problems.
After Aston Martin’s Alonso retired from F1 Canadian GP sprint race due to a track incident, the Spaniard was forced to retire on Sunday as well. However, it was not due to any incident or mechanical or power unit problem, but due to a seat issue which became unbearable at one point.
Earlier in the weekend, he raised the point in about the seat and post F1 Canadian GP, Alonso reiterated the situation. The irritation only increased as the race went on. They tried to modify things overnight on Saturday, but it didn’t fix the issue and they retired knowing points was not on offer.
No points in sight, so Alonso took the option to retire from F1 Canadian GP
“Yeah, we had this seat issue where I feel more and more uncomfortable with the laps,” said Alonso in the print media pen. “The position doesn’t feel the right one and we were obviously out of the points, quite far from the points and no threat of rain anymore.
“So yeah, we decided to stop the pain. Yeah, we tried to modify a few things last night, it didn’t work. So we will try to make a new one for one for Monaco,” summed up Alonso. The team has had vibration issues since the start of the F1 2026 season, due to faulty integration of chassis and Honda power unit.
Seat issue crops up as Honda solves vibrations issues
Over the races, Honda has managed to limit the vibrations. But a new problem has crept in with the seat, which Aston Martin trackside chief, Mike Krack, believes is not related to minor adjustments that usually happens with F1 drivers. He relates it to how the drivers sit in the cockpit.
Krack admits that they may have gone a step too far with the positioning, in trying to sit as low as possible. They will have to reconsider and go back to how it was in the past to aide Alonso. “He has been uncomfortable for a while, and never to the point where he was really like a showstopper,” he said.
Not a simple seat fit problem but larger positioning issue
“But it’s like a pressure point, where you feel it gets worse and worse, and I think we need to reconsider a little bit the positioning. You try with these cars to be as low as you can, and when you look at how the drivers used to sit over the last years, it goes more and more and more into lying position, and we need to check.
“Maybe we have gone a step too far, but it’s something we need to check. [And] no, I don’t think so [we can do a simple change with new seat fit]. I think we need to reconsider maybe a little bit, going a little bit back to how we have been in the past.”
