Legendary Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey has warned that severe vibrations in Aston Martin’s new AMR26 could cause permanent nerve damage to the hands of drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
The statement surfaced during the opening race weekend at Albert Park and has forced the team to limit how long each driver can stay on track.
Newey, who joined Aston Martin as managing technical partner and team principal to lead the team’s push toward championship contention, now faces a major technical problem before the season’s first race has even started.
What did Newey say in Melbourne?
Newey spoke to reporters during the pre-race press conference on Thursday at the Australian Grand Prix. He said vibrations from the Honda power unit travel through the chassis and into the steering wheel.
The issue is already damaging components on the car. Mirrors and taillights have fallen off because of the shaking, Newey said.
“That vibration into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems. Mirrors falling off, taillights falling off, all that sort of thing, which we are having to address.”
But he revealed that the greater concern is the toll on the drivers’ hands.
“The much more significant problem with that is that that vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver’s fingers,” he added. “Fernando is of the feeling that he can’t do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands,” Newey told the media. “Lance is of the opinion that he can’t do more than 15 laps before that threshold.”
The race in Melbourne is scheduled for 58 laps. That means Aston Martin may need strict limits on how long either driver runs in the race on Sunday before the team can figure out a solution in the coming weeks.
Vibrations are not the only problem with the Honda PU
Other than causing vibrations, the Honda power unit may also face a significant performance shortfall.
During an F1 Commission meeting in Bahrain, Adrian Newey raised concerns about the engine’s ability to recharge the battery. He said the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engine sometimes fails to recover even 250kw of energy, far below the 350kw limit allowed under the 2026 rules.
People inside the paddock believe the internal combustion engine may lack the power needed to recharge the battery fully. That could leave Aston Martin roughly 80 horsepower short in certain conditions.
Honda acknowledged the situation publicly. Trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara said the company is unhappy with both performance and reliability.
After the pre-season test, Aston Martin formed a crisis group to help solve the problem. Engineers from Newey’s team worked closely with Honda’s staff in Sakura, Japan. Former team boss Andy Cowell had also travelled to Japan to assist Honda engineers directly.
Aston Martin’s timeline problem
Timing also played a role in Aston Martin’s current struggles.
Newey only joined the team after his gardening leave ended in spring 2025. Rival teams had already started work on their 2026 cars on Jan. 1, 2025.
Aston Martin’s first wind tunnel model for the 2026 car did not enter testing until the month after Newey arrived. That delay put the team behind in aerodynamic development.
Team representative Pedro de la Rosa admitted the timing was far from ideal. Speaking through Formula 1’s official website, he said Honda’s delayed commitment to the sport and Newey’s late arrival slowed early progress.
“From our side, Adrian started on the 2nd of March, well into the 2025 season, which was not ideal, but there’s a point in life where you cannot change things,” he said. “You have to commit at some point, and once you commit, you have to get on with it. It’s on both sides that we started a bit late, but we will have a great future together.”
Despite the setbacks, the divers have still backed Newey publicly. Alonso said he has no doubt the team will solve the problem and stressed that Newey’s three decades of experience remain a major asset.
What this means for Melbourne and beyond
For now, Aston Martin’s goal in Melbourne is simple: gather data.
The team will likely focus on short runs during practice sessions to test possible fixes. Engineers want to see which changes reduce vibrations and how the battery behaves over time.
Those tests will shape the team’s race plan for Sunday. The longer the car runs, the more severe the vibrations appear to become.
Inside the paddock, many believe Aston Martin could face a long recovery. Newey has promised progress over the coming months, but improvements may come slowly.
For a team that hoped to launch a new era in 2026, the opening race weekend has instead turned into a test of survival. Aston Martin now manages lap counts, protects its drivers’ health, and searches for answers before the season slips further away.
