Lance Stroll compares driving Aston Martin AMR26 to being ‘electrocuted’

Lance Stroll has likened the sensation of driving the Aston Martin AMR26 to being “electrocuted” due to Honda engine vibrations.

It comes after Adrian Newey, the Aston Martin team principal, admitted to concerns that Stroll and teammate Fernando Alonso could suffer “permanent nerve damage” at the Australian Grand Prix.

Lance Stroll: ‘Very uncomfortable’ vibrations with Aston Martin AMR26

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Aston Martin endured a troubled pre-season with the new AMR26 after its Honda power unit proved slow and unreliable.

Severe vibrations resulted in Alonso stopping on track on the penultimate day of testing in Bahrain last month, with Aston Martin limited to short and intermittent runs on the final day in Sakhir.

Sensationalist rumours earlier this week claimed that Aston Martin intends to complete the minimum possible running in Australia this weekend and could even retire from the race at the end of the formation lap.

As reported by PlanetF1.com on Monday, however, it is understood that the situation is not as draconian as has been suggested elsewhere.

It is believed that Friday’s practice running is set to be key to Aston Martin’s plans for the remainder of the weekend as Honda’s fixes to the vibration issue are trialled on track for the first time.

If successful, it is thought Aston Martin could enjoy a relatively normal weekend, opening the door for the team to catch up on some of the crucial mileage it missed in testing.

Newey revealed the full extent of Aston Martin’s vibration problem on Thursday in Melbourne, revealing that Alonso and Stroll risk “permanent nerve damage” if they carry out too many laps consecutively.

He told PlanetF1.com that Alonso feels he can accumulate no more than 25 laps in a row, with Stroll unable to do more than 15. The Australian Grand Prix consists of 58 laps.

Alonso said on Thursday that his hands and feet begin to feel numb after 20-25 minutes on the track.

And Stroll has also admitted that he finds it “very uncomfortable” behind the wheel of the AMR26 at present, comparing the sensation of driving the car to being electrocuted.

He told broadcast media in Melbourne: “It’s not good. No, it’s not good.

“We’re trying to get on top of it, fix it. We have some ideas this week to solve some of those issues and we’ll see an FP1 if it’s better than it was in Bahrain.

“I don’t know how you can compare [the feeling of] it – I guess electrocute yourself in a chair or something like that and it’s not far off.

“It’s a very uncomfortable vibration. It’s bad for the engine, but it’s also bad for the human inside the car.

“We need to just get on top of it and I think we will. I think we have some ideas. We’ll see.”

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Asked specifically how many laps Aston Martin plans to complete before retiring at Albert Park, Stroll said that it depends entirely on how much progress the team and Honda has made since testing.

He explained: “We don’t know yet. It all depends how much we’ve improved since Bahrain.

“If we still have the same vibration issues we had with the car in Bahrain, it’s going to be hard to do much more than 10-15 laps.

“If we resolve those issues from the last couple weeks, then I think we can go much further into the race, so time will tell.

“We’re not happy, for sure. We want to be more competitive, but all we can do is put our head down and just get on top of the issues we have and just try to improve every weekend throughout the season.

“I have no doubts on the chassis side. We can bring upgrades and get more competitive every week.

“And then on the engine side, we just need to find more power.

“And when all of the pieces come together, I’m sure we can be where we want to be. It’s just about getting there.

“Just trying to improve as quickly as we can.

“Are we going to be where we want to be this weekend? No.

“Bahrain was only a couple of weeks ago. And these changes don’t happen overnight, but we made some changes over the last couple of weeks and we’ll see how we go.”

Stroll quipped during the first Bahrain test last month that the sunny weather and the car’s “nice” livery were the only positives for Aston Martin.

Asked in Melbourne if he is looking forward to anything at the start of this season, he added: “Nothing in particular, no.”

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