Fernando Alonso was unable to finish the Chinese Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver parked his car in the pit box after 35 laps because heavy vibrations made driving almost impossible. According to the Spaniard, it became increasingly difficult to feel his hands and feet. “It became increasingly difficult to drive over time,” said Alonso.
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Fernando Alonso started the race in Shanghai from eighteenth place, but ran into trouble early in the race. The AMR26 struggled with heavy vibrations, which became increasingly intense during the race. Eventually, Alonso and the team decided that continuing to drive made no sense. “The level of vibrations was very high today. Between lap twenty and thirty-five, I had trouble feeling my hands and feet,” Alonso said in the paddock in China.
‘Increasingly difficult’
Since the winter test, Honda has reduced the worst vibration problems, but according to Alonso, some solutions are only temporary. “To reduce the problem, we adjusted a few things, such as lowering the engine’s RPM. But in the race, you actually have to increase the RPM if you want to overtake someone or need to recover energy. It became increasingly difficult over time.” During the race, Alonso let go of the steering wheel several times to relax his hands for a moment.
The Spaniard did not expect that Aston Martin would have been able to finish the race. “We were a lap down and already driving at the back, so there was actually no reason to continue,” the two-time world champion concluded. Engine manufacturer Honda also admitted that Alonso had to retire due to ‘the strong vibrations.’
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‘Give more time’
Alonso was able to enjoy the race during the opening phase. Especially the start of the Aston Martin went well, according to him. So there were still positive aspects to mention. “The start was fun. Just like in Australia, our car seemed to start well. In the first lap, everyone still has a full battery, but after that, the real energy management begins. There we are not strong at the moment.”
For the upcoming Grand Prix in Japan, Alonso hopes that Aston Martin and Honda can take further steps. According to him, the team needs more time to look into the problems thoroughly. “There were only five days between Australia and China, so there was little time to change things. Now we have two weeks until the race in Japan. In that time, we can do more tests and give Honda the chance to better understand exactly where the vibrations are coming from,” he concluded. Watch Alonso’s onboard footage below:
Alonso had to let go of the steering wheel on the straight because of the vibrationspic.twitter.com/iqpHL8RTI0
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