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Honda have bad news for Alonso and Stroll in Aston Martin 'vibration' update

05:49, 12 Mar

Updated: 06:05, 12 Mar

byHenry Eccles

Shintaro Orihara, Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer for Honda, has issued an update on the Aston Martin 'car vibrations', and it isn't great news for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

Prior to the Australia GP, team principal Adrian Newey revealed neither Alonso or Stroll could complete the Grand Prix due to the risk of 'permanent nerve damage.'

Although neither driver finished the race classified, the team completed 64 laps around Albert Park, no doubt useful for data, but Orihara has said the vibration issue will continue in China.

No countermeasure for car vibrations yet, says Orihara

Aston Martin's AMR26 on track during Bahrain testing - Image: Race pictures

When asked by GPblog on the status of the AMR26, Orihara revealed there hasn't been "any countermeasures" on the vibrations in the car.

"In last event, we just focused to reduce the battery vibration.

"So that's why, how to say, we haven't applied any countermeasure for car vibration. That is the next step after we fix the battery vibration.

"But we are keep trying to understand the vibration we are coming from.

Elsewhere, Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack provided an update on the development timeline for the AMR26, after both Alonso and Newey expressed positivity on the potential of the car.

"You need to be reliable to see where are the performance potentials, but clearly your development plan, you have to adjust it, because if you do not know what is the next step, then obviously it's difficult to plan it.

"So I think we need to stay flexible in that regard and accumulate as much as we can now.

"As I said, it was not many laps last weekend compared to the competitors, but it was very good learning, which is only a small step, but considering where we were... it was a good step."

Russell highlights safety concern the FIA needs to address immediately

Elsewhere, Australian GP winner George Russell has said he would like to see a change already implemented for the Chinese Grand Prix.

After the race, he explained: "I think having experienced the race and battling, the only thing I would request from the FIA is that with the Straight Mode, the front wing doesn’t drop as aggressively."

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