RACING: Aston Martin feel 'powerless' as battery issue leaves Australian GP participation on a knife-edge

MELBOURNE — Aston Martin's hopes of competing in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix are hanging by a thread, as the team struggles with critical battery issues, team principal Adrian Newey said Friday.

The Formula One team has been hit by problems with their Honda power unit, forcing drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to limit their laps due to the risk of permanent nerve damage from car vibrations.

Twice world champion Alonso could not participate in the first free practice session, while Stroll managed only three laps because of power unit problems. Together, they completed just 31 laps in the second practice session, leaving the team's participation for the rest of the weekend uncertain.

Newey revealed that Aston Martin brought four batteries to Melbourne, but two had already failed, leaving only the ones installed in the cars.

"If we lose one of those, it’s obviously a big problem," Newey told reporters. "We’ve got to be very careful how we use the batteries. Given our rate of battery damage, it’s quite a scary place to be."

The team also faced a battery issue during the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain last month, limiting valuable laps and data before the season opener.

Aston Martin, powered by Mercedes last season, finished seventh in the championship. Honda, which withdrew from F1 in 2021 after helping Red Bull and Max Verstappen win the title, returned this season with Aston Martin.

Newey attributed the power unit problems to Honda’s lack of experience, noting that only about 30% of their original team remained for the Aston Martin project. Aston Martin only discovered this personnel shortfall in November.

The ongoing issues have taken a toll on the entire team. Mechanics were working until 4 a.m. Friday to find solutions. "It’s a self-feeding problem," Newey said. "And of course, it’s using a lot of energy in the human sense."

Alonso expressed his disappointment with the lack of spare batteries, saying the team had not gained much from the limited practice sessions. "We need to recover a little in terms of understanding the car and the window of where this car operates," he told F1 TV. -Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Sonali Paul and Peter Rutherford/Reuters