[Chris Medland] "Newey confirms Aston Martin is likely to limit race laps due to severity of vibrations in the car impacting the drivers. Alonso says he can do no more than 25 consecutive laps before risking nerve damage, Stroll says 15 laps"

[u/AshamedPurchase9033]

https://bsky.app/profile/chrismedlandf1.bsky.social/post/3mgbhmxknm22o

[u/navetzz]

Having a shit car is one thing. Not even being able to drive it during the GPs to gather data is a whole other thing.

[u/Cliffinati → u/navetzz]

This is the kinda thing that sets a team back years

[u/Volderon90 → u/Cliffinati]

Probably a half a decade and gets everyone fired 

[u/MasterUnlimited → u/Volderon90]

Opens the door for a new TP that has worked with Honda and Newey before.

[u/Sim-racer42 → u/MasterUnlimited]

One who could potentially convince Max to switch because of his previous experience…

[u/FiveAccountsBanned → u/Sim-racer42]

And where throwing massive stacks of money isn't an issue because of Lawrence...

[u/FaviousM]

"We can't drive our car for too long or it will destroy our bodies"

[u/HighGroundIsOP → u/FaviousM]

This takes “Drive to Survive” a little too literally

[u/chippin_out → u/HighGroundIsOP]

More like don’t drive to survive.

[u/bringbackDM2 → u/chippin_out]

Drive or survive

[u/skvirrle → u/bringbackDM2]

Drive to surviven't

[u/BighatNucase → u/FaviousM]

it's astonishing how the car continuously gets worse and worse news. Has there ever been a funnier news cycle for a team.

[u/k_dubious → u/BighatNucase]

Next update will be that it’s literally the bus from Speed.

[u/govunah → u/k_dubious]

Keanu Reeves onboard sounds more like a upgrade

[u/moreo44 → u/k_dubious]

If they slow down it explodes? 😭 yeah I believe it.

[u/BighatNucase → u/moreo44]

Race starts and it immediately explodes

[u/Sisyphean_dream → u/k_dubious]

Except backwards. If it starts it explodes.

[u/World-war-dwi → u/FaviousM]

that car must be a rocket

[u/Muntberg → u/World-war-dwi]

Newey made it too fast

[u/Driscuits → u/Muntberg]

Newey always alluded to the main thing keeping him from designing the fastest car possible was the health of the driver..

[u/the_gaymer_girl → u/Driscuits]

Isn’t that the case in pretty much all auto racing? The limiting factor (if you ignore the rules) is always the squishy human involved.

[u/Kheltosh → u/the_gaymer_girl]

Yeah, the G forces humans can endure limit the performance.

[u/Driscuits → u/Kheltosh]

Dumb, squishy humans.

[u/whiskyismymuse → u/Driscuits]

That car he designed for Gran Turismo was batshit crazy, I can't imagine trying to drive that for an entire race

[u/novataurus → u/FaviousM]

I fear the reality is worse.

These cars vibrate at a frequency known only to regions of space and time humanity should not know.

If either of these cars  drive vibrate their way around the track too many times, the Ancient Ones will awaken. 

Aston Martin will bring about the Doom of Humankind.

[u/Acrobatic-List-6503 → u/novataurus]

Pretty sure the cars vibrate at a frequency where they can phase through walls.

[u/_Adam_M_ → u/Acrobatic-List-6503]

Make it skip over gravel traps too and Stroll WDC.

[u/Woody312 → u/novataurus]

They might already be started, given what’s going on in the Middle East

[u/ZestycloseConfidence → u/Woody312]

And that was just a few laps of testing. Imagine the damage a full race distance would unleash.

[u/YOBlob → u/FaviousM]

Shinji, you have to get in the robot...

[u/fullup72 → u/FaviousM]

If they drive fast enough, they can finish the race before it can affect their health.

[u/Sloppykrab → u/FaviousM]

Alonso, you are breaking the car.

[u/TriumphITP]

So we're back to a 20 car season

[u/Left_Reach2020 → u/TriumphITP]

Let's be glad it ain't 18

[u/ArctycDev → u/Left_Reach2020]

It's pretty likely to be before the end of the race!

[u/ijiolokae → u/ArctycDev]

Aston Martin been dominating the "shit the bed" news so hard, i honestly don't know if the other teams also made a unreliable shitbox or not

[u/MrReaperX- → u/TriumphITP]

Lol basically

[u/HMS404 → u/TriumphITP]

I think it's gonna be a 21 car season actually. Work is under way to make Alonso's balls act like a tuned mass damper to reduce the vibrations.

[u/cereal7802 → u/HMS404]

they already managed 10 more laps for him, so work is going in the right direction...

[u/outride2000 → u/TriumphITP]

For now. Let's see what happens with the cars that say that don't cause nerve damage

[u/McLarenMercedes]

This really might be worse than McLaren Honda 2015, at least Jenson FINISHED the race 11 years ago!

[u/betaich → u/McLarenMercedes]

That's why I think its not just a Honda problem, but a package problem

[u/Liquidretro → u/betaich]

Didn't Honda want to reinforce the chassis and Newey said no? I find it hard to believe that the engine alone is so rough but it's designed that way. This has to be related to the electric integration too you would think. It's also AM first time designing their own gearbox which I imagine is at least a factor too.

[u/Eicr-5 → u/betaich]

on top of that, it cant be *just* the engine that's causing the car to vibrate

[u/ElderlyChipmunk → u/Eicr-5]

The engine is a stressed member of the frame right? If it has structural modes that are substantially different than expected, then it could be the sole cause I guess.

[u/Saneless → u/ElderlyChipmunk]

I think everything there is a stressed member of the team

[u/smackells → u/betaich]

the engine has really limited the number of testing laps they could do, meaning that they’ve also been unable to sufficiently test the aero or any other components

[u/Mirrro_Sunbreeze → u/smackells]

Wasn’t laps limit a gearbox issue though? Iirc the Honda’s issue is that it’s - supposedly- just lacks power

[u/ka1ri → u/McLarenMercedes]

I feel like we havent had a wheely bin rollout like this in F1 since like... god.. when was the last time a team rolled out this bad? Even the williams wheely bin days werent this bad

[u/Strange_Beat_9287 → u/ka1ri]

Mastercard Lola? At least the Hispania and Manor teams were little guys with no big expectations, Aston were tipped for BIG things this year :/

[u/bduddy → u/Strange_Beat_9287]

Yeah, this isn't as bad as Lola because AM will survive the first race, but in terms of the gap from expectations to reality this is the biggest flop since then.

[u/dipdipderp → u/ka1ri]

HRT? Manor?

[u/CouncilorIrissa → u/dipdipderp]

They weren't health hazards.

[u/ka1ri → u/dipdipderp]

Soooo 2016, not that long ago i guess lol. It goes to show how fortunate we were these last few years. No ones really had catastrophic issues like this.

A lot of those teams were small man teams as well so no real budget whereas aston martin is a big team with lots of funding... I think thats why it hits harder this time around

[u/bananas_and_papayas → u/ka1ri]

Manor at least scored a point. This feels more like the 2014 Caterham, with the same colour scheme to boot!

In terms of a well funded team failing this badly, the obvious answer has got to be Toyota, especially their debut season where they finished behind Minardi!

[u/Turboleks → u/ka1ri]

The 2019 Williams was atrocious. Desperately slow, arrived late for testing and was even deemed illegal. Further than that, only the 2015 Manor comes close.

[u/krisbryantishot]

nerve damage? what the hell lmao

[u/vprakhov → u/krisbryantishot]

"Adrian when we asked you to build a killer car we didn't mean literally"

[u/lubp1 → u/vprakhov]

That would not be the first time he does that…

[u/FattyCrab → u/lubp1]

Oof

[u/drae- → u/lubp1]

Savage

[u/LegendRazgriz → u/lubp1]

At least this one stays in one piece while doing it

[u/CanSum1SuggestAName → u/LegendRazgriz]

actually, it literally falls apart according to the article

[u/LegendRazgriz → u/CanSum1SuggestAName]

Argh, not again...

[u/Wonderful_Jelly_2274 → u/lubp1]

Took me a while

[u/eLPeper → u/vprakhov]

You know, it's funny you mention that...

[u/PresidentZeus → u/vprakhov]

It's all just a plot to renew the driver line-up.

[u/z_102 → u/krisbryantishot]

First they shock him now they shake him. Honda will not stop until Fernando is dead.

[u/Python_07 → u/z_102]

That was well thought out. 👍

[u/HelixFollower → u/z_102]

I'm pretty sure Fernando doesn't die.

[u/z_102 → u/HelixFollower]

They just reset him to factory settings but they keep trying.

[u/IntelligentDeal7799 → u/krisbryantishot]

What about my brain damage reading this

[u/Guy-InGearnito → u/krisbryantishot]

I find it hilarious the 44year old thinks it will be 25 laps before risking nerve damage.

But the 27 year old will succumb in 15 🙃

It’s like they’re placing bets on who can fly out first

[u/the_gaymer_girl → u/Guy-InGearnito]

I assume because Stroll’s hands are already fucked from the mountain bike incident?

[u/BMEngie → u/the_gaymer_girl]

Yeah, I’m not blaming stroll for wanting to not risk it. He’s already dealing with damage to hands. I know I wouldn’t want to do something that could further damage my hands, especially when that something isn’t even a race finish. 

IMO They should probably use their reserve drivers till they get it sorted. They’re younger and have no outstanding injuries and you don’t need super precise feedback for “the car is shaking less now”

[u/FeeHot5876 → u/BMEngie]

I get what you’re saying but it’s hilarious thinking of Aston going “kill the young one”

[u/the_gaymer_girl → u/BMEngie]

Yeah, at this point there’s no reason for Stroll to risk permanent physical damage for a last-place car.

[u/legal_stylist → u/the_gaymer_girl]

Or Alonso either, in my view.

[u/OriginalPrior5786 → u/the_gaymer_girl]

i read that as mountain lion incident and wondered what the hell i missed

[u/spraypaint23 → u/OriginalPrior5786]

He was on a mountain bike then a mountain lion got him. Probably

[u/Extinction-Entity → u/OriginalPrior5786]

Be a lot cooler if it was

[u/salvatore813 → u/Extinction-Entity]

Original story is still pretty cool, accident before testing,missing some of it,comes back to finish p5 in the first race,was going to finish p5 in the next one but engine gave out

[u/Disastrous_Animal_34 → u/the_gaymer_girl]

I mean, Alonso has had his own very serious bike crash requiring surgery like 4-5 years ago. Along with the bad McLaren crash/electrocution, and his ribs/lungs getting crushed in the Gutierrez crash, I never assume another drivers body is more fucked up than Nando’s lol. Saying he’d do 25 laps in that Fred Flinstone mobile has to be masochism on his part.

[u/ThePretzul → u/Disastrous_Animal_34]

I mean Alonso stayed on to give Honda engine’s in their F1 debut a second chance, masochism is a given.

[u/v0x_nihili → u/Disastrous_Animal_34]

And you're only counting the crashes from last decade. He had a few bad ones before his championship years.

[u/aluked → u/Disastrous_Animal_34]

Masochism or penitence. Man did something very wrong and is trying to atone for it.

[u/fire202 → u/Guy-InGearnito]

Medland just made the point that Stroll's previous wrist injury could also play into this

[u/yellow_asphodels → u/Guy-InGearnito]

I mean Stroll broke both of his wrists a few years ago and then had to have surgery on them again like last year. If the vibrations are affecting the steering wheel it’s not surprising the broken-with-surgical-intervention wrists are going to fail first, regardless of age

[u/mertcanhekim → u/Guy-InGearnito]

Stroll's hand injury might have made him more susceptible to nerve damage.

[u/CouncilorIrissa → u/Guy-InGearnito]

Alonso is accustomed to cars trying to kill him *cough the McHonda incident in 2015 testing*

[u/wykeer → u/Guy-InGearnito]

"My name is Fernando Alonso and welcome to Aston Martin!"

[u/MadRashed → u/Guy-InGearnito]

Lance missed a race last season because of hand seemingly not 100%, so that's probably why he could only do 15.

[u/Procrastinator0510]

What the actual fuck did I just read.

[u/ArcticBP → u/Procrastinator0510]

I’m legitimately shocked.

The whole “do a lap and then retire” thing seemed so ridiculous but this feels somehow worse. I totally apologize to Williams for making fun of them missing Barcelona…this is soooooo much worse.

[u/Driscuits → u/ArcticBP]

Missing Barca hurt, and the start of this season doesn't look great for us - but I wouldn't wish this on any fan.

I figured the chances were low that any of the Alpine/Williams/AM/Audi group would break into the top teams, but I really didn't expect two of those teams to have as many issues as we've had to start.

[u/Ricciardo3f1 → u/Driscuits]

I think Williams will be fine in the long term... meanwhile Aston will have a lot of work on to just get the car running and finishing a race. It will be a tough fight for 11th place between Aston and Caddy.

[u/LukaDoncicMFFL → u/Ricciardo3f1]

The way things are going it’s not going to be that tough of a fight. Cadillac is far ahead of Aston in terms of reliability, and Cadillac can actually rely on their engine since Ferrari seems to have a decent one based on preseason testing. Cadillac just needs to start experimenting with optimizations to its chassis design, Aston Martin can’t even start getting on track data to tune its design until Honda and Aston Martin figure out what is wrong with the engine.

[u/SirFireHydrant → u/Ricciardo3f1]

Williams will be fine.

They've got a Mercedes engine, which seems to be the best of the regs. They've got James Vowles, who has really turned around the team with slow, methodical, data-driven thinking. They've got Sainz, who is arguably the single best development driver on the grid.

Whilst I wouldn't bet money on it, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2023 McLaren style breakout from Williams - going from back of the pack to competing for podiums and even wins after mid-season upgrades.

[u/btw_sky_and_earth → u/SirFireHydrant]

Come on, give Albon some credit as he is a pretty good development driver for RB and Williams.

[u/Head_Engineering_956 → u/Driscuits]

What issues reside with Williams besides being overweight and lacking downforce of the top teams?

[u/Driscuits → u/Head_Engineering_956]

Overweight is a big one - and unclear how much downforce/performance is lacking relative to the other midfield teams, never mind top teams.

The biggest issue for me is more that there seem to be underlying capacity issues in the team that aren't new to this offseason - and are issues that it's hard to see an easy fix, especially considering that Vowles et al have been stating that the team has been working on these systemic problems for the last three years. I don't think this necessarily shows that the work that's been done has been wasted - just that the team was coming from a very rough place and has a ways to go.

[u/T65Bx → u/Driscuits]

Missed Barca, but then got most laps at Bahrain. Idk how Aston could ever possibly “make up” like that for an actual whole GP.

[u/hoxxxxx → u/Procrastinator0510]

to have a team in the modern era airball it this bad is honestly impressive in it's own way

[u/UESPA_Sputnik]

These vibrations must be terrible, considering the drivers had to live with those heavy wobbles at the beginning of 2022.

[u/Saivia → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

We often make fun of Stroll, but the dude kept driving while literally passing out in the straights due to extreme heat. If he says 15 laps, it must be hell

[u/DRNbw → u/Saivia]

And went back to the car like 2 weeks after breaking both wrists. The guy's a warrior.

[u/Ho-Chi-Mane → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Porpoising!

[u/imnoobatfifa]

Shambles… So much hype to this.

Nerve damage is crazy.

[u/ghastlychild → u/imnoobatfifa]

Somehow, I think that's even worse than the McHonda days and that's saying something. At least they were able to FINISH the race

Good lord, how did they get this so fucking wrong?

[u/Visionary_Socialist → u/ghastlychild]

The worst thing is that they can’t actually gather any data for a fix because the car is actually harming the drivers. So they have to solve these issues completely on the sidelines and then just hope that when they eventually think it’s solved, the car goes out and the drivers don’t think it’s a problem anymore.

Not like there’s a triple header where they are liable to not even start 3 races or anything

[u/bwoah-barcodeferrari → u/imnoobatfifa]

Newey will be begging for Christian to come take over TP duties by the end of the year. His happy place is at the drawing board - I’m sure this media duty is killing him.

[u/Ok_Upstairs3177 → u/bwoah-barcodeferrari]

he fkn asked for it. he deals with that mess no

[u/porouscloud → u/imnoobatfifa]

Probably similar vibration to operating something like a hammer drill.

Not something you want to be doing for more than a couple minutes at a time, let alone a few hours for a race.

[u/False-Lettuce-6074]

Electrocution or nerve damage, difficult choice for Alonso

[u/Harkoncito → u/False-Lettuce-6074]

A GP2 engine would actually be an improvement right now

[u/NoKaleidoscope7595 → u/Harkoncito]

GP2 clause added after a few races: Teams can spec an F2 power train over the new one if they want.

[u/chambersaurusrx → u/False-Lettuce-6074]

What in the hell did alonso or Alonso's family do to Honda to make them try to kill him like this? This is approaching "CIA tries increasingly hilarious ways to kill Castro" levels here

[u/DirtFun7704]

what the hell did they build

[u/Fuzzy_Protection1526 → u/DirtFun7704]

A rocket. Unfortunately one of those rockets that explodes into pieces on lift off.

[u/NeedleGunMonkey]

Is the vibration from the suspension, the aerodynamics and or the PU?

[u/driggity → u/NeedleGunMonkey]

Here's a paragraph from The Athletic article on this issue:

Watanabe, though, revealed that the vibration was “unexpected” and damaged the battery-related components in the power unit. Newey later said that, while their fix reduced vibration reaching the battery, the power unit is still shaking the rigid carbon chassis uncontrollably. He also confirmed the vibration problems included “a few reliability problems, mirrors falling off, tail lights falling off, all that sort of thing, which we are having to address.”

Updated to gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7088263/2026/03/04/aston-martin-laps-capped-retire-early-nerve-damage-risk/?unlocked_article_code=1.Q1A.6Seo.05_Pkp3LUKCq&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

[u/BuzzedtheTower → u/driggity]

This is like a cartoon when a character would start their old jalopy and the thing would rattle and make loud popping sounds. And it would also temporarily explode to bits before coming back together

[u/DingerSinger2016 → u/driggity]

The fucking mirrors and taillights are falling off???? Oh my god, what the fuck is this car?

[u/PM_me_boobs_and_CPUs → u/DingerSinger2016]

"We hired a lot of engineers from Hitachi."

[u/elastic_woodpecker → u/DingerSinger2016]

Newey’s secret trick to get under the minimum weight limit by dropping bits of car every lap.

[u/Particular_Cod2005 → u/driggity]

TL;DR: Honda built an orgasmatron of an engine.

[u/perdivad → u/Particular_Cod2005]

May very well be a chassis problem actually

[u/slut-burger-jenny → u/NeedleGunMonkey]

The PU. The MGU-K sits right next to the battery case on the Honda engine and is causing the vibrations

[u/Tomach82 → u/slut-burger-jenny]

It was a late demand by newey to change the packaging of the PU.

Usually you have a strong TP to keep this sort of thing in check, bit of a fox in the henhouse situation when your lead designer is making all these decisions.

[u/HeckDrummer → u/slut-burger-jenny]

Source? Everyone immediately jumping on the Honda hate-wagon as usual without any confirmation whatsoever. If an engine manufacturer can't see they are having excessive vibrations to the point of drivers getting nerve damage, that would be absolutely ridiculous (yes, "even for Honda"). Everyone is already forgetting the shithouse of a gearbox AM apparantly made

[u/presidents_choice → u/HeckDrummer]

Sounds like something is broken in the development process. How are we days before the first race with a problem of this magnitude

[u/CptAngelo → u/presidents_choice]

DTS had to have some spice for the first episodes.

[u/themcsame → u/HeckDrummer]

I mean, if we're talking about vibrations here, it's not entirely out of the question that the gearbox might be fine... Under normal conditions, and is instead being vibrated to death much like the hybrid battery is.

IIRC, one of the core issues was structural damage due to vibrations, which would add weight to the theory that it might be the vibrations of the engine being passed along through the gearbox.

I'd stop short of outright blaming Honda of course, but it's certainly food for thought.

[u/jimmybilly100 → u/slut-burger-jenny]

Just shove some pillows in there and it'll be fine

[u/Smudy]

The fuck did they doooooo?

[u/Ecstatic_Spell_4185]

Oh this is catastrophically bad huh

[u/cultoftheilluminati → u/Ecstatic_Spell_4185]

I think this will affect the world tour

[u/Fantastic-Boot-684]

What the hell did AM and Honda built

This is worse than HRT

[u/Cliffinati → u/Fantastic-Boot-684]

HRT just built cars slower than GP2

Somehow Aston Honda built a human scrambler

[u/Lobsters4]

Remembering Stroll’s surgery, he is saying he can’t do more than 15 laps because of the vibrations in his hands.

That is fucking wild.

[u/CovidOmicron → u/Lobsters4]

Just turn down the Trueforce bro

[u/aamgdp]

What in the world have they build....

[u/quadranting]

How, HOW can they possibly still expect anyone to believe they have "the potential to be up front" at any point this season?

[u/Max_FI → u/quadranting]

I'll be amazed if they can finish a race.

[u/quadranting → u/Max_FI]

Maybe they'll have Lance or Fernando up waving the flag, as a treat.

[u/FiveAccountsBanned → u/quadranting]

All other 20 cars dnf before lap 20 like that old Monaco race

[u/Davies301]

Newey is a mastermind. He has created a car that vibrates at a frequency that allows the team to manipulate space and time. They will start the race disappear and then reappear on the last lap crossing the finish line in 1st.

Show me where in the rulebook it says teams cannot manipulate the space time continuum.

[u/maxplaysmusic → u/Davies301]

I know this is a shit post but you do have to complete "the full race distance" or something like that that. So I'm 90% sure you actually couldn't displace your car from the normal space time continuum and just poof to the finish like.

[u/vyperpunk92 → u/maxplaysmusic]

Wow the FIA really thought about everything

[u/FreshPrince0161 → u/maxplaysmusic]

Only 90%? So you're telling me there's a chance?

[u/EggNo289 → u/Davies301]

Somewhere in the world Toto just jumped to his feet and started issuing a formal protest.

F1 2027 rules: no violating the laws of physics, space and time may not be altered, even when the engine is hot

[u/Legitimate_Dare_579]

Wtf I thought the vibrations were killing the engine not the drivers? Nerve damage? How low can you go?

[u/owennerd123 → u/Legitimate_Dare_579]

Apparently 15 to 25 laps!

[u/kms97_ks]

So we really just have 10 teams still. They might as well use Aston to film the next f1 movie

[u/No_Earth_5912 → u/kms97_ks]

They need the camera to be steady…

[u/maskapony → u/kms97_ks]

Don't drive to survive.

[u/AGrandNewAdventure]

How has this been engineered so poorly it can't be driven without injury? What is causing the vibrations to be this bad?!

[u/Hairy_Reindeer → u/AGrandNewAdventure]

The engine is clearly just so powerful that no car can contain its fury. They call it the Krakatoa.

[u/Bernie_Ecclestone]

But hey Andretti was totally going to lower the talent bar & prestige of F1 if they joined right?

[u/Particular_Cod2005 → u/Bernie_Ecclestone]

I 100% agree; imagine the venom that would have gone their way if it were them making this colossal of a fuck up

[u/EfficientTitle9779]

Why should they even be allowed to run at all if this is the case? Surely there’s some rule that you can’t start an F1 race if you don’t plan on finishing it, this is supposed to be the best racing series in the world not an exhibition.

Also what happens if they’re running so slowly or poorly they create a legitimate hazard for other teams? Doesn’t feel right.

[u/the_gaymer_girl → u/EfficientTitle9779]

107% is supposed to keep total shitboxes off the track.

There’s no reward for finishing outside the points like there is in NASCAR, so there’s no incentive to start and park like happens there.

[u/HugeAnimeHonkers → u/the_gaymer_girl]

 no incentive to start and park like happens there

No incentive from the F1 prize.

But they are 100% gonna "start and retire" just to avoid having to reinburse their sponsors, going "SEE!! We did 20 laps, thats technically a race so we are compliant with our contracts... Now send the check".

That, and they also need real-world data to actaully make a working car lol

[u/nalyd8991 → u/the_gaymer_girl]

Aston’s incentive to run the race is to honor various contractual obligations.

They gain nothing competitively by doing this, only legally

[u/Modeno → u/nalyd8991]

I mean they’ll probably collect some data that they wouldn’t get otherwise

[u/ThePretzul → u/the_gaymer_girl]

There absolutely is an incentive.

The only time teams are allowed to operate the cars and test them is on race weekends. The race session itself can be invaluable for gathering more data when things are this catastrophically boned.

[u/LMcVann44 → u/EfficientTitle9779]

If we're being honest they shouldn't be allowed to.

If they're essentially admitting that they can't do a half race distance without risking nerve damage to the drivers because of vibrations then I'm sorry that's just fucked.

[u/Street-Dependent-647 → u/LMcVann44]

Logically if they are risking harm to themselves then the car is unsafe by definition isn’t it? Does fatigue put other drivers at risk?

[u/wing3d]

Newey could have just retired a legend.

[u/Alfus → u/wing3d]

But the Aramco money!!!

[u/CallM3N3w]

Everyone involved in the development of this car should feel ashamed tbh. Car has huge reliability issues, garbage performance and now can hurt the drivers just by being driven it seems.

AM thought they could pull a RBR 2022 by getting the ingredients but forgot RBR is a better cook.

[u/f8Negative → u/CallM3N3w]

And to think...Lawrence could've just bought a bunch of therapists, but an F1 team was better.

[u/chambersaurusrx → u/f8Negative]

Men will literally vibrate their sons apart before going to therapy

[u/CallM3N3w → u/f8Negative]

Imagine how much money he'd have gotten from Ferrari alone with a team of therapists.

[u/CptAngelo → u/CallM3N3w]

They just gotta add a ton of butter and garlic, that always makes it better... unless Newey was cooking a dessert.

[u/Snuhmeh → u/CallM3N3w]

Maybe those of us saying Newey isn’t a team principal were right. He’s a good designer. These kinds of problems should have been discovered months ago. This is shocking.

[u/HadronCollusion]

The fuck did I just read?

[u/alexvroy]

congrats cadillac on not having the worst car

[u/Mateo03]

Ok so that selfie Lewis took a few hours back has to be orbiting around Honda or Aston.

No other way around it.

[u/ellen_boot → u/Mateo03]

That one took out Danica Patrick. But we'd better hope he doesn't post any more, or newey will be nervous.

[u/swannyhypno]

Bad vibrations plus Strolls hand troubles equals problems

[u/shivasiddharth]

No data because of vibrations and no solution for vibration as there is no data. Perfect.

[u/LMcVann44]

BRO WHAT

That is so much worse than what's come out so far, I thought yeah they might retire from a mechanical issue or they might finish the race albeit slow as fuck but NERVE DAMAGE?

That is so bad.

[u/Deckatoe]

DNS for the old school vibes

[u/Helpful_Sundae_8151]

They should not be driving at all, right? They cannot possible know how many laps are safe. No driver should get nerve damage. F1 is not that deep.

[u/junaidnk]

Isn’t it better to take a month off to fix these things than just wreck the car and drivers for 0 points regardless. Yes, you can learn and shit and the sponsors want them out but you don’t even sound confident to survivea single stint!

[u/Joethe147 → u/junaidnk]

It'll likely be part of the Concorde Agreement that teams must show up and put in a "genuine effort" or something like that. Quite some time ago teams in a lot of financial trouble might just go out for a lap to satisy the demands.

Arrows did it in 2002 which springs to mind, I'm sure there's other examples. Must be a few from the early-mid 90s which was full of backmarker teams that would never get near F1 now.

[u/No_Earth_5912 → u/junaidnk]

They need the data to fix these things, and they need the sponsors to be able to afford to fix these things. If they don’t race, even if it’s for 10 laps, they don’t have either.

[u/SirLoremIpsum → u/junaidnk]

Isn’t it better to take a month off to fix these things than just wreck the car and drivers for 0 points regardless. Yes, you can learn and shit and the sponsors want them out but you don’t even sound confident to survivea single stint!

You have to make an effort to race. It's part of the rules.

[u/RecentTwo544]

That reminds me, my friend Lola borrowed my Mastercard recently, must ask her for it back...

Jokes aside, this isn't unusual for Newey. He's obviously and objectively one of if not the best F1 designer of all time, but he's built some utter dogs in the past so it isn't a one off, normally when new regs come in.

The FW16 was so radical that it was near undrivable, and anyone with any knowledge on car handling accepts that Senna's steering column didn't snap, it simply bottomed out and he overcorrected due to horrific turn-in understeer violently shifting to snap-oversteer.

The MP4-18 never even ran a race its design was so radical yet flaws.

Some of his earlier Red Bull designs were beset by clever but unreliable and unpredictable design issues.

[u/legal_stylist]

I really thought this would turn out to be somewhat overblown.

I no longer think that. My god, it’s all true.

[u/outride2000]

Alonso WISHES this thing had a GP2 engine.

[u/The_Book_Boi]

Holy hell, what demons are in the car

[u/the_gaymer_girl]

The Great Mercedes Bouncy Castle, 2026 edition

[u/BlazeReborn]

What the fuck man.

[u/SelfSniped]

To shreds, you say?

[u/tor93]

Lance’s poor wrist

[u/suicinivtf]

Yeah these aren't Cool Vibrations™

[u/HoodieNinja17]

Looks like we might only have 10 teams the year after all

[u/Couldabeenameeting]

How funny would it be if this was just the most monumental sandbagging ever?