Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have had a rough start to the 2026 F1 season with the Australian GP. Last Thursday it was revealed that the Aston Martin drivers were experiencing intense vibrations in their cars because of Honda issues. Stroll believed that he could not last more than 15 laps, while Alonso predicted 25.
This was because the vibrations were affecting their hands, leading them to believe they could cause nerve damage. Alongside that, many problems occurred over the weekend, leaving them to miss or do very few laps in several sessions. Reliability was bad.
Lance Stroll on a lack of speed and reliability during the 2026 F1 Australian GP weekend
After the 2026 F1 Australian GP, Stroll talked about about his day and getting to do over 40 laps in what was akin to a test session: “Racing is a strong word, but we got out, and we circulated. It was the only session I did all weekend really, so it was nice to drive around the track a little bit and get some kilometres.
“It’s not hard. The biggest problem is we just don’t have any speed or reliability, so that’s the biggest thing.”
Stroll then confirmed that he experienced vibrations during the Australian GP and that they were worse than in Free Practice 1.
When asked about the reason for his extended pit stop before joining, he added: “Set-ups, and then also we had some stuff to look at on the power units.”
The Canadian had little to add about the possibility of spare batteries for China.
“It’s a question for the technical people.”
Fernando Alonso on a great first lap, no sign of quick improvements after 2026 F1 Australian GP
Alonso, however, had more to add to the issues experienced during the 2026 Australian GP.
It had started so well. Following a Q1 elimination, the two-time World Champion displayed his class on the first lap by moving up to P10. However, reality soon hit again as the car and engine issues saw him quickly tumble back down.
“The start and the first two laps were the most enjoyable part of the race. Being P10 for two laps was unexpected, but I think the start is not our problem. While everyone else was struggling for the boost or whatever they had, for us, it was a clean first lap.
“Obviously, completely out of position, P10, so I fall back to P17. Then we have a small issue on data that we have to stop the car. Then we think we repair it, and then we went back out again. And I think another issue appears, so we have to stop the car for the second time.”
Same in China
The Australian GP is preceded directly by the Chinese Grand Prix on the 2026 F1 calendar. Unfortunately for Alonso, he believes the Chinese GP will be “no different” as there is no quick solution to the Honda woes.
“We have the same car, the same power unit next weekend. I expect another tough weekend, but meanwhile, we cannot give up. We need to keep on trying different solutions, especially on the chassis and try to understand and get better in the package in general. We are not optimised in anything yet because of the lack of mileage, so China will be another good opportunity.”
The Spaniard also claimed the vibrations were still an issue.
“Similar to Bahrain. It’s not the best feeling driving with this level of vibrations.
“Honda thinks that the vibrations on the battery are reduced since Bahrain with some of the modifications, but that didn’t happen to the chassis yet. They need to isolate the battery in a different way, so it will take a little bit more time, but we try to do our best and to do as many laps as possible to help the team.”
Despite the struggles Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso faced during the Australian GP, there are 23 more F1 races. Thus, Aston Martin has time to prove themselves.
