Newey, Alonso, AMR26, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

Aston Martin unretire both cars as Adrian Newey oversees chaotic Australian Grand Prix

Alonso and Stroll battled against their new Aston Martins in Melbourne

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 8 March 2026 07:42

Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey watched on from the garage during the Australian Grand Prix as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both carried out the unusual move of reviving their Aston Martins despite previously retiring them from the race.

With the new wave of chassis and power unit regulations coming into the sport in 2026, Aston Martin kickstarted their works partnership with Honda, hoping to turn over a new leaf and become capable of winning races.

But as the team flocked to Melbourne for the first race weekend of the new era, it became abundantly clear that Aston Martin were way behind their rivals, even brand new outfit Cadillac who started their 2026 project from scratch.

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Team principal and managing technical partner Newey then made no attempt to hide just how bad Aston Martin's issues were with the new Honda power unit, telling media that both Stroll and Alonso had voiced concerns that they would suffer from permanent nerve damage if they tried to complete the full-length Australian GP.

Both drivers sat out of at least one session each in Melbourne, with Stroll failing to take to the track on Saturday at all, fuelling concerns that he may not even make it to the start line.

F1 RESULTS: Mercedes dominate chaotic Australian Grand Prix

Aston Martin narrowly avoid double DNF in Melbourne

After a dramatic start saw home hero Oscar Piastri crash out before the formation lap on Sunday, both Alonso and Stroll made it to lights out despite the Canadian racer failing to set a time in qualifying.

Earlier in the week, Newey shared that Alonso had told him he felt he could only complete a maximum of 25 consecutive laps in the new AMR26 due to the vibrations coming from the problematic Honda power unit, whilst Stroll warned that his expectations were even lower, stating that 15 laps could be his limit.

And like clockwork on lap 15 of the 2026 Australian GP, an Aston Martin was called into the pits to retire, though it was Alonso calling it a day, not Stroll.

The first DNF of the season appeared to have been confirmed for Newey's squad with 43 laps left, but to clear up the confusion for any UK fans who may have thought they were dreaming at 4:40am when they saw Alonso's name back on the timing charts, the two-time champion did in fact unretire himself.

The Spaniard rejoined the pack, albeit way behind the rest of his rivals with no chance of catching up to them, although he headed back into the pits on lap 36 before his DNF was confirmed (for good this time) on lap 37.

Aston Martin then did the same thing with Stroll, who seemingly retired shortly after Alonso's second DNF, but the 27-year-old then headed back out on track with less than 10 laps to go, having rejoined the race 12 laps behind.

Stroll did manage to cling on until the chequered flag and crossed the line 15 laps down in P17, but he was the last of the drivers who remained in contention after two DNS' and three DNF's.

Given that Aston Martin finished both the pre-season shakedown and official testing with the lowest lap count of all the teams, they likely chose to allow both Alonso and Stroll to unretire themselves in order to gather as much data as possible to help them work out how they can turn their disastrous start to the season around.

Aston Martin Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso 2026 regulations Lance Stroll Honda