Alonso refuses Honda battery comment as Aston Martin faces limited supply

Fernando Alonso refused to be drawn on Honda’s battery situation after his running was limited to just 19 laps on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin arrived in Melbourne dealing with a power unit issue, with the Honda engine causing severe vibrations that not only damaged the car, but also caused physical problems for the drivers.

Fernando Alonso declines to discuss Honda battery shortage at Aston Martin

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That, though, isn’t the only problem, according to team principal Adrian Newey.

The team is also down to just two Honda batteries – one for each car.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Melbourne, Newey revealed: “We are short on batteries. We’ve only got two batteries left, the two that are in the car.

“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.”

Asked if Aston Martin could fly any replacement batteries into Melbourne, Newey responded: “Unfortunately not. There aren’t any.”

More on Aston Martin’s woes

Adrian Newey feels ‘powerless’ as Aston Martin left with two Honda batteries

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The team lost one battery even before the beginning of FP1, which meant Alonso sat out the opening session, while Lance Stroll covered just three laps before he was sidelined.

The teammates did manage more laps in the second session, Alonso covering 18 and Stroll 13, but both spent time in the garage with Stroll’s session ending early.

“Yeah, not much learning, to be honest,” Alonso said of his Friday. “Unfortunately, the Honda issue in FP1 and some Honda issues as well in FP2, a little bit limited our number of laps today.

“Yeah, not needed again, because we need to recover a little bit in terms of understanding the car as well and the window of where this car operates. Obviously, we brought a completely new package into this race, and we need to understand where to run that package in terms of setup, and we didn’t manage too many laps today.

“Hopefully a cleaner FP3 tomorrow.”

Asked about Friday’s revelation that Aston Martin is already down to two batteries, having started the weekend with four, Alonso gave a short response.

“I just drive the car,” he said. “It’s more a question for Honda.”

Told what his team principal Newey had said about the batteries, Alonso replied: “I drive the car. I feel disappointed to not have a stock. Only supplying one team.

“But, yeah, this is the situation, so it’s more a question for them.”

But while Aston Martin’s situation looks dire from the outside, Alonso is adamant that it is “exaggerated”, as when things are bad, they can be made out to be worse.

“Sure everyone is working towards a better situation,” he said. “We know the challenge ahead of us is a big challenge, and we accept it, and we go for it, and everyone is just doing their best.

“Obviously, everything will be exaggerated when you do things very well, and when you do things very bad. Both ends are normally exaggerated, and we are in that bottom end at the moment.

“But we are making progress. Sometimes it’s visible in lap time, sometimes it’s not, and it’s frustrating, but everyone is working towards the solution.”

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