Aston Martin has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will not compete in FP1 at the Australian Grand Prix due to a "suspected power unit issue" that will prevent his AMR26 from running.
It comes as part of a dismal start to the campaign, with the new car down on power and unreliable, at the start of the Silverstone-based squad's new era with Honda.
In Melbourne, team principal Adrian Newey said that the vibrations from the power unit could lead to "permanent nerve damage" in the hands of Alonso and Stroll.
The team is working hard to fix the issues and will have "very heavily restricted" track action until it is sorted.
The Spaniard, however, will lose at least an hour of running, adding insult to injury for Aston Martin.
The start of FP1 at Albert Park also saw Arvid Lindblad stranded at pit exit on his debut for Racing Bulls, with both McLaren drivers also encountering issues with their new-for-2026 power units.
Also interesting:
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!