Aston Martin are already worryingly short of spare parts (Image: Getty)
Adrian Newey admitted one or both of Aston Martin‘s cars might not make to the the starting line of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday amid a critical situation with its engine batteries. They took four battery packs with them to Melbourne but have already experienced problems with two of them on the first day of running Down Under.
And, speaking between the two practice sessions held on Friday, team boss Newey admitted any further problems will put their participation in Sunday’s Grand Prix at risk. He said: « We’re short on batteries. We’ve only got two batteries left, the two that are in the cars. So we lose one of those, then it’s obviously a big problem. So we’ve got to be very careful on how we use the batteries.
« We came here with four batteries. We’ve had conditioning problems or communication problems with two of those batteries, which means, as we sit here today, [we have] only got two operational batteries. That, given our kind of rate of battery damage, is quite a scary place to be in.
« Obviously, we’re hopeful that we can get through the weekend and start two cars and so on and so forth. But it’s very difficult to be concrete at the moment about that. » Asked if Honda might be able to fly more parts from their factory in Japan to Australia, Newey replied: « Unfortunately not – there aren’t any. »
Adrian Newey admitted Aston Martin are in ‘a scary place’ (Image: Getty)
Newey is F1’s most celebrated designer ever, his cars having won championships for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Aston Martin’s billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll gave him a huge £30million salary and a stake in the team to replicate that success, but their ongoing vibration woes have caused further delays to the project and Newey conceded this is one of the toughest situations he has ever faced.
He added: « I kind of feel a bit powerless because, clearly, we’ve got a very significant PU problem, and our lack of running then also means, at the same time, we’re not finding out about the car. So our information on the car itself is very limited because we’ve done so little running.
« It’s not going to be a quick fix, because it involves fundamental balancing and damping projects that they will need to conduct. I can’t comment how quickly they can achieve that, but that has to be the main drive. Once they’ve got past that, then they can really start to concentrate on performance.
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« But at the moment, this vibration issue is sucking all energy in every area, emotionally. Our mechanics were up until four o’clock this morning. So of course, they’re on their knees. The factory has been offering a lot of support. So it’s something we really need to try to get on top of as quickly as possible. »
Fernando Alonso, who turns 45 in July, cannot wait forever for the issues to be fixed. The two-time world champions has waited very patiently for an Aston Martin car capable of giving him one more title shot before he retires and Newey is desperate to deliver for a driver he has admired for many years.
He said: « Fernando is one of the true greats. His ability, his talent, his all-round capability, he should have won, in truth, far more than the two championships he has. We knew this was going to be a difficult year, a build year. We started very late and on a very compressed cycle on the chassis side, but we knew that meant in the first half of the season we would be able to catch back up and we would very much have done without the distraction that’s now caused. For Fernando, it’s a hard mental place to be in at the moment. »
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