Juan Pablo Montoya says Fernando Alonso would fight through Aston Martin pain if he were leading

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Fernando Alonso may have fought through vibration issues at the Chinese Grand Prix if he had been fighting at the front.

Aston Martin have been struggling with vibration issues during the early stages of the 2026 season, due to their Honda power unit.

The AMR26 was designed by Adrian Newey, and the new Honda power unit has also introduced new issues to the car itself, including the aforementioned vibration issues, which in turn have caused the battery to not reach full charge.

In the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll have been able to finish the races due to the issues that they have been facing with the 2026 Aston Martin.

Stroll retired from the Chinese Grand Prix due to battery issues, whereas Alonso decided to pull out of the race because of the vibration issues he had been facing after 32 laps.

Juan Pablo Montoya says Fernando Alonso was lapping ‘like a fool’

During MontoyAS for AS Colombia, Juan Pablo Montoya discussed whether Alonso would have finished the Chinese Grand Prix if he were in the fight at the front.

Montoya questioned whether Alonso would ‘put up with’ the vibrations if the Aston Martin was more competitive, or if he retired the car because he was outside of the points.

Montoya said, “You’ve had to race with the vibrations, and they’ve had to race with that vibration, because when you run a flat-spot tyre – in other words, when you lock up and leave the tyre square – it vibrates, and it vibrates so much that even your eyes start to shake.

“But if you were in his position, if Fernando were in the lead with that vibration, would he finish the race and put up with it, or would he retire the car?”

He added, “It’s a recurring problem that they have to sort out, and they’ve improved it. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but for me, whenever things like this happen, you always ask yourself: how far would you go if the car were winning the race?

“There comes a point where you say, ‘I’m really making the effort, but I’m not helping him either. I’m making the effort. I went as far as lap 30. This thing is unmanageable. We’re not getting anywhere. I’m just lapping round like a bit of a fool. We’re not going to learn anything else here’.”

What do you expect from Fernando Alonso in the 2026 F1 season?

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David Coulthard believes Fernando Alonso is exaggerating

Former Formula 1 driver, David Coulthard, has suggested that Fernando Alonso was exaggerating his vibration issues at the Chinese Grand Prix to put more of a ‘spotlight’ on Honda.

Coulthard said, “Is it a little bit of a convenience thing just to continue to put the spotlight on Honda?”, he went on to say, “A driver would learn to sing a national anthem backwards while juggling chainsaws if it gave him a tenth of a second.”

Felipe Massa also suggested that Alonso’s time as a Formula 1 driver has come to an end amid the struggles he is experiencing at Aston Martin.

Massa said, “Fernando’s moment has already passed. It is time to come compete in other races. It is going to be one of Fernando’s worst years.”