Alonso sidesteps Honda battery questions as Aston Martin faces critical shortage

Fernando Alonso's running was severely limited to just 19 laps on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix as Aston Martin grapples with a critical shortage of Honda battery units, compounding existing power unit vibration issues. Team principal Adrian Newey revealed the squad is down to its last two batteries, forcing extreme caution and limiting crucial setup work for a major car upgrade.

Why it matters:

A severe parts shortage at this stage of a race weekend cripples a team's ability to optimize its car, especially when debuting a significant new aerodynamic package as Aston Martin has in Melbourne. With only two battery units remaining for two cars, any failure could lead to a catastrophic DNS (Did Not Start), putting immense pressure on reliability and forcing conservative run plans that compromise performance data collection.

The details:

• The team arrived in Melbourne with a known Honda power unit issue causing severe vibrations, which Alonso confirmed also limited running in FP2.
• Adrian Newey stated the team is critically short on Honda battery units, having only the two currently installed in the cars. He confirmed no replacement batteries are available to be flown in.
• The shortage impacted Friday severely: Alonso sat out all of FP1, and teammate Lance Stroll managed only three laps in the first session.
• When asked about the battery situation, Alonso repeatedly deflected questions to Honda, stating, "I just drive the car," and expressed disappointment over the lack of parts supply for a single-team operation.
• Despite the dire outlook, Alonso pushed back against external narratives, calling the perception "exaggerated" and asserting the team is making progress, even if it's not always visible in lap times.

What's next:

The immediate focus for Aston Martin is preserving its two remaining battery units through FP3 and qualifying. Every lap will be a calculated risk. Alonso expressed hope for a "cleaner FP3" to finally understand the new car package's operating window. The team's weekend strategy is now dictated by parts conservation as much as pure performance, a significant handicap at a circuit where track time is key to dialing in setups.