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Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey has confirmed that the outfit will hold discussions with the FIA to secure Lance Stroll's spot on the Australian Grand Prix grid.

The Canadian failed to set a single lap on Saturday at Melbourne's Albert Park following the latest issue with Honda's power unit. Williams' Carlos Sainz also missed qualifying.

An issue with the internal combustion engine (ICE) in Stroll's car saw him miss both third practice and qualifying, meaning FIA permission is required for him to start the season-opener.

Stroll also missed the vast majority of first practice, although he did at least complete some mileage in second practice. In total, the 27-year-old has managed just 16 laps across the weekend so far.

Newey revealed on Thursday that Stroll does not believe he can complete more than 15 laps in a row due to the current vibrations problem affecting the AMR26, which is putting both drivers at risk of permanent nerve damage in their hands.

The positive for Aston Martin in its talks with the FIA is that Fernando Alonso proved the car does have the pace to run competitively; the bigger question is for how long.

"Another very busy day in Melbourne as we continue to make progress with the AMR26 working with our technical partner, Honda," said Newey.

"Fernando was able to run important laps in final practice, giving us valuable data and information heading into Qualifying. Fernando qualified in P17 – just missing out on Q2 – and it is clear there is lots of hard work ahead of us.

"Lance was unlucky today with an ICE issue keeping his car in the garage during practice. After those issues were resolved, there was not enough time to rebuild the car and take part in Qualifying.

"It is clear the AMR26 has the pace to compete, so we will discuss with the FIA tonight our options for running Lance tomorrow."

Team