Adrian Newey says severe vibrations from the Honda engine could risk nerve damage for Aston Martin F1 Team drivers.
Newey revealed that the vibrations are so strong that Fernando Alonso feels he cannot drive more than 25 laps in a row without risking permanent nerve damage to his hands, while Lance Stroll believes his limit is about 15 laps.
The issue also caused reliability problems during pre-season testing, including parts like mirrors and tail lights falling off due to the intense shaking. Engineers have introduced changes to stop the vibrations damaging the hybrid battery system, but the vibrations are still reaching the car’s chassis and steering.
Koji Watanabe said the team will only know if the fixes work once the car runs during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Newey admitted the team may need to limit the number of laps drivers complete in races until the root cause of the vibration problem is fully solved.
