Fernando Alonso in 'hard mental place' over shocking Aston Martin start

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey has admitted that Fernando Alonso is in a "hard mental place" over the team's shocking start to the 2026 season. 

The hoped-for leap up the field in 2026 has so far failed to materialise for Aston Martin as it struggles with both chassis issues, but predominantly the unreliability of its Honda power unit. 

Prior to the Australian GP, Newey made the astonishing admission that both Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll were at risk of "permanent nerve damage" in their fingers as a result of vibrations caused by the Honda engine, with Alonso feeling he could do 25 laps, and Stroll just 15.

On Friday in Melbourne, Newey added that the team was in a "scary" place owing to the fact that it only had two batteries remaining to get through the weekend, with Stroll not even taking to the track on Saturday at Albert Park owing to technical problems.

Honda has deployed countermeasures, which allowed both drivers to compete in the race, with Alonso completing 21 laps in total before retiring, whilst Stroll was 12 laps down, having stopped mid-race before returning to gather precious data.

On top of the Honda woes, Newey has conceded that the team is about three-to-four months behind it rivals in terms of its chassis after his arrival from gardening leave after leaving Red Bull in April 2025.

Teams were allowed to begin development on their 2026 cars from January 1st, 2025, meaning Newey's instruction to start afresh with a new concept has put the Silverstone squad on the back foot.

Detailing the reaction of the two-time world champion with 426 starts to his name, who is finally driving a Newey-designed machine for the first time, Newey admitted Alonso was in a tough place mentally.

"Fernando, obviously, in my opinion, is one of the true greats," Newey told media, including RacingNews365. 

"His ability, his talent, his all-round capability, he should have won, in truth, far more than the two championships he has to his name, and however many race wins. 

"But he’s still super quick, super talented, super sharp. Talking to him, he doesn’t feel as if he’s suffering in any way. His eyesight’s still very good; his reactions, apparently, he’s very proud of the fact that he was the fastest starter last year in reaction time.

"So, he’s an amazing person, and so we all, I suppose, were trying to contain our hopes because we knew this was going to be a difficult year, a build year. Certainly, on the chassis side, we, on Aston Martin’s side, started very late with a very compressed cycle. 

"I am not trying to make excuses, but it means we knew that certainly the first part of the season we were likely to be a bit behind, but hopefully with the potential, which I still believe we have on the chassis side, to catch back up, or would have done without the distraction that’s now caused. 

"So, for Fernando, it’s a hard mental place to be in at the moment."