F1 Australian Grand Prix: Aston Martin issue official team statement after DNF rollercoaster ride

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

Australian Grand Prix

Aston Martin issue official team statement after DNF rollercoaster ride at Australian Grand Prix

Talk about a rollercoaster ride (with some white tip thrown in)

Chris Deeley

Sunday 8 March 2026 19:00 Updated: 00:34

Aston Martin's crisis-hit F1 team have released a statement explaining their rollercoaster Sunday afternoon at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were in and out of the garage at various points during the race at Albert Park, 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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"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.”

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

Aston Martin Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll