Fernando Alonso retired 33 laps into the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon due to vibrations in the car. This came 26 laps after his teammate, Lance Stroll, crashed out of the race on lap 11, bringing out the first VSC.
Before retiring, fans noticed Alonso had to take his hands off the wheel multiple times due to the AM26’s vibrations.
⚠️ The VIBRATIONS were so Severe that Alonso was taking his hands OFF the steering wheel.pic.twitter.com/epETwLX3NM
— Aston Martin F1 Insights (@amrf1insights) March 15, 2026
Thirty-three laps is the most the AM26 has run consecutively, and Aston Martin announced that the retirement was due to driver discomfort.
After his retirement, Alonso said that there were times at the tail end of the run in which he could not feel his hands or feet and since they were running last felt there was no need to stay out, knowing points were out of the picture.
“At one point, from lap 20 to 33, I was struggling a little bit to feel my hands and my feet,” Alonso told members of the media post-retirement.
“We were one lap behind; we were last. It was probably no point to keep on going.”
Shintaro Orihara, HRC’s Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, said via a press release that while the vibrations of the RA626H power unit are affecting the systems of the AM26 to a lesser extent, they’re still creating discomfort for the drivers.
“We have improved the vibrations on the systems side,” Orihara said. “But it’s still an issue for driver comfort. This is a key area to address as we look ahead to the next race in Japan.”
With double DNFs to start the season and minimal laps run, Honda is not happy with its performance in its return to the grid with Aston Martin, which puts it in a tough spot with the final race before Formula 1’s unplanned one-month break at its home track, Suzuka.
The team is looking at the positives of running more laps across the Chinese Grand Prix and sprint race compared to their first outing of the season in Melbourne.
“We cannot be satisfied with the double DNF in the Chinese Grand Prix today,” Orihara said. “However, if we focus on the more favorable areas, we ran more miles than in Melbourne, which is encouraging. We also increased our reliability throughout the Sprint weekend, but this isn’t yet enough to complete the full race distance.”
It’s still unknown what led to Lance’s crash early in the race, and HRC and the Aston Martin team are working together to figure out the cause.
“As for Lance’s DNF, we are currently investigating the root cause, and work will continue with HRC Sakura, together with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team, to understand what happened on the ninth lap.
“The 2026 regulations are far from simple, as shown by the number of DNFs and DNSs today. We know this isn’t an excuse for our reliability and performance, and we will strive to improve. We have more work ahead of us, and that is our priority right now.”
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