RACING: Optimistic to think Aston Martin could complete Chinese GP, says Alonso

MELBOURNE — Fernando Alonso has expressed doubts that Aston Martin will make it to the chequered flag in China next weekend after a challenging season opener for the Honda-powered Formula One team in Australia on Sunday.

Both Alonso and his Canadian teammate Lance Stroll retired from the Melbourne Grand Prix due to power unit issues that limited their laps and caused severe vibrations. Team principal Adrian Newey had warned reporters last week that drivers risked nerve damage from the steering wheel vibrations if they attempted more than 25 consecutive laps.

Honda had brought four batteries to Melbourne, but two failed before the race, leaving only the ones installed in the cars.

New Engine and Chassis Era

This season marks a new engine and chassis era in Formula One, with Aston Martin entering an exclusive partnership with Honda. During Sunday’s race, Alonso and Stroll returned to the pits before going back on track briefly and eventually retiring.

“Today was primarily an opportunity to learn more about the AMR26,” Newey said. “Both cars took the start and, when it became clear we could not compete for points, we chose to pit and check the cars over. The team then asked Fernando to retire the car to preserve components.”

Alonso acknowledged the team’s hard work to improve performance and said the cars were already performing better than in pre-season testing in Bahrain. However, he was cautious about China.

“I think that will be optimistic, but I think we can try at least,” the 41-year-old told Sky Sports. “Obviously we are still short on parts going into China. For Bahrain, more batteries and parts will be available, so in China we can take more risks on Sunday.”

The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka follows China and is Honda’s home race, which Alonso may have been referencing.

Melbourne also allowed Honda to monitor battery reliability, according to Shintaro Orihara.

“This event was extremely important for us to check battery reliability,” he said. “We can see from our data that battery vibrations have decreased, and we are confident we are on track to complete a full race distance. Next week in China, we will focus on putting in more laps, gathering data, and optimizing energy management.”

-Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Michael Perry/Reuters