F1 News: Aston Martin issue official team statement over double DNF confusion at Australian GP

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Australia, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

Aston Martin issue official team statement over double DNF confusion at Australian GP

Not the team's finest day...but maybe their best of the weekend

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 8 March 2026 08:55

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Aston Martin have released a statement explaining their hokey cokey-esque afternoon at the Australian Grand Prix.

Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were in and out of the garage at various points during the race, after a pre-season filled with calamity.

Indeed, the team only had both cars running in the same session once across Friday and Saturday, with Stroll completing a total of 16 laps between three free practice sessions and qualifying.

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The team revealed after Sunday's race that they made the decision to essentially treat the race as a test session once it was clear they weren't going to be competing for points.

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Stroll: Hopefully we can be better

The team released a statement from boss Adrian Newey, which read: “Today was primarily an opportunity to learn more about the AMR26. Both cars took the start and, when it became clear we could not compete for points, we chose to pit and check the cars over.

"The team then asked Fernando to retire the car to preserve components. The data and learnings from this weekend will help us as we go into the next event.”

Speaking after the race, Stroll said although it was not a good day at the office for the team, they can build on the learnings heading into the Chinese GP.

"It was like a practice session for us, just getting laps," he said.

"We came back in, boxed, we tried some different things and solved some of the issues we had this weekend. At least we got out and did some laps, hopefully we can be in a better position for China."

That Chinese Grand Prix is only a week away, with the 2026 F1 schedule tightly packed – although it's looking more and more likely that there will be a complete racing void in the month of April, with races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in serious doubt as the situation in the region gets more and more perilous.

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F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll