Aston Martin feel 'powerless' as battery issue leaves Australian GP participation on a knife-edge

MELBOURNE, March 6 : Aston Martin's hopes of racing in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix rest on their final batteries holding up until Sunday's race, leaving them feeling powerless and in a "scary place to be", team principal Adrian Newey said on Friday.

The Formula One team have been plagued by problems with their Honda power unit, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll having their laps restricted due to the risk of sustaining permanent nerve damage from vibrations in the car.

Twice world champion Alonso was unable to drive in the first free practice on Friday, while Stroll managed only three laps due to problems with the power unit.

The drivers combined for 31 laps in the second free practice session later in the day but the team's participation in the rest of the race weekend is on a knife-edge.

Newey said they brought four batteries to Melbourne but two had already failed, leaving only the ones left in the drivers' cars.

"So we lose one of those, then it's obviously a big problem," Newey told reporters.

"So we've got to be very careful on how we use the batteries.

"Given our kind of rate of battery damage, it's quite a scary place to be in."

Aston Martin also suffered a battery problem on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain last month, which compounded a critical shortage of laps and data before the season-opener in Melbourne.

Powered by Mercedes last season, Aston Martin finished seventh in the championship.

Honda withdrew from F1 in 2021 after providing a competitive power unit for Red Bull that helped Max Verstappen win the title but confirmed in 2023 they would return with Aston Martin this season.

Newey pinned the power unit problems on a lack of experience at Honda, saying only about 30 per cent