Race
F1 2026
Round 2
Alonso and Stroll both retire in Chinese GP
Shanghai International CircuitThe Chinese Grand Prix, Round 2 of the Formula 1 season, took place on Sunday, March 15 at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Saturday’s qualifying results placed Fernando Alonso 18th on the grid and Lance Stroll 21st. However, four cars were unable to start the race due to technical issues, meaning the race began with 18 cars on the grid instead of the full field of 22.
Alonso gained positions on the opening lap while avoiding two spinning cars ahead. He then dived to the inside as two rivals battled in front of him and overtook both, briefly moving up to P10. He continued battling in the midfield before switching from hard to medium tyres on lap 32. However, he returned to the pits two laps later after reporting vibrations and retired from the race.
On the opening lap Stroll avoided the incident involving two spinning cars ahead and completed the first lap in P16. He then attempted to make progress through the field, but on lap 10 at Turn 1 the car lost power. He brought the car to a stop at the side of the track and retired from the race.
Fernando Alonso
14
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team I had fun at the start again and it seems this is a strong point of our car as we jumped up to P10. However, from about lap 20 I was struggling with the vibration levels, and we were already one lap down, so in the end we decided to retire the car. The vibrations seemed worse today than on any other day of the weekend, so we need to investigate why that was. It’s clear we need more time to fix everything, but we’ll go again in two weeks' time in Japan.
I had fun at the start again and it seems this is a strong point of our car as we jumped up to P10. However, from about lap 20 I was struggling with the vibration levels, and we were already one lap down, so in the end we decided to retire the car. The vibrations seemed worse today than on any other day of the weekend, so we need to investigate why that was. It’s clear we need more time to fix everything, but we’ll go again in two weeks' time in Japan.
Lance Stroll
18
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team The car just switched off going into T1. We need to look into it, but suspect it was a battery-related issue. Overall, we’ve done more laps this weekend, collected more data and learned more about the car and the engine so that’s a positive to take from China. We have lots of work ahead of us in all areas and need to push for improvements. It’s not an easy time for the team, but we’re all working together and there is a lot of potential to unlock.
The car just switched off going into T1. We need to look into it, but suspect it was a battery-related issue. Overall, we’ve done more laps this weekend, collected more data and learned more about the car and the engine so that’s a positive to take from China. We have lots of work ahead of us in all areas and need to push for improvements. It’s not an easy time for the team, but we’re all working together and there is a lot of potential to unlock.
Mike Krack
ー
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team Neither car completed today’s race. Lance’s car experienced a suspected battery issue and stopped on lap 10. Fernando’s race ended on lap 34 when we retired the car due to discomfort from vibrations. That’s something we are working with Honda to improve. We take away a lot of data and learning from this race, which we will apply as we prepare for Japan.
Neither car completed today’s race. Lance’s car experienced a suspected battery issue and stopped on lap 10. Fernando’s race ended on lap 34 when we retired the car due to discomfort from vibrations. That’s something we are working with Honda to improve. We take away a lot of data and learning from this race, which we will apply as we prepare for Japan.
Shintaro Orihara
ー
Honda We cannot be satisfied with the double DNF in the Chinese Grand Prix today. However, if we focus on the more favourable areas, we ran more miles than in Melbourne which is encouraging. We also increased our reliability throughout the Sprint weekend, but this isn’t yet enough to complete the full race distance.
“We have improved the vibrations on the systems side, but it’s still an issue for driver comfort. This is a key area to address as we look ahead to the next race in Japan.
“As for Lance’s DNF, we are currently investigating the root cause and work will continue with HRC Sakura, together with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team, to understand what happened on the ninth lap.“The 2026 regulations are far from simple, as shown by the number of DNFs and DNSs today. We know this isn’t an excuse for our reliability and performance, and we will strive to improve. We have more work ahead of us, and that is our priority right now.
We cannot be satisfied with the double DNF in the Chinese Grand Prix today. However, if we focus on the more favourable areas, we ran more miles than in Melbourne which is encouraging. We also increased our reliability throughout the Sprint weekend, but this isn’t yet enough to complete the full race distance.
“We have improved the vibrations on the systems side, but it’s still an issue for driver comfort. This is a key area to address as we look ahead to the next race in Japan.
“As for Lance’s DNF, we are currently investigating the root cause and work will continue with HRC Sakura, together with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team, to understand what happened on the ninth lap.“The 2026 regulations are far from simple, as shown by the number of DNFs and DNSs today. We know this isn’t an excuse for our reliability and performance, and we will strive to improve. We have more work ahead of us, and that is our priority right now.
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