Aston Martin reveals technical issue that forced Alonso to retire

Aston Martin endured another difficult weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso retiring due to a seat issue and Lance Stroll finishing 15th on home soil.

Despite a strong opening phase from Alonso and a clean race from Stroll, the AMR24 lacked the pace and tyre performance needed to fight for points.

Stroll started from the pit lane after the team changed his battery and made set‑up adjustments. Alonso, starting from the back, made excellent progress in the opening laps, briefly running inside the top ten as several rivals struggled to bring their tyres into the correct operating window. But as the race settled, both Aston Martins slipped backwards, unable to match the pace of the midfield.

Alonso’s race ended early when a seat problem made it unsafe to continue, while Stroll completed a conventional two‑stop strategy and reached the chequered flag, albeit outside the points.

Alonso was encouraged by his early pace but disappointed not to finish. He said: “We had a good start and we were fighting into the top ten positions. We made the right call starting on the Soft tyres, with a few others opting for Intermediates and then having to pit early.”

He then explained the reason for his retirement: “Unfortunately, we had an issue with the seat in the race, so we decided to retire the car.”

Despite the setback, Alonso noted signs of improvement: “We seemed to be faster here than we were in Miami with the same package. We need to wait for performance to come with our upgrades around the summer break, but we will look to keep optimising this package until then.”

Stroll was candid about the team’s struggles after finishing 15th. He said: “It’s been a difficult weekend in Montreal. We couldn’t get the temperatures we needed into the tyres and we were struggling for grip throughout the race.”

He also highlighted the car’s limitations: “We didn’t have the pace we needed on the straights either. The car performance isn’t where we need it to be and there’s still a lot of work to do to get us there.”

Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack summarised the team’s weekend with honesty. He said:

“We made a decent start to the race with both drivers making up ground in the opening laps. But it was difficult to stay there, especially with the threat of rain reducing.”

He explained Alonso’s retirement: “Fernando’s race ended early due to a seat problem, making things uncomfortable in the cockpit, so we chose to retire the car on lap 24.”

Krack also detailed Stroll’s race: “Lance’s race was a conventional two-stop race [Soft, Soft, Medium] finishing in P15 ahead of Bottas.”

He acknowledged the team’s current performance level: “Unfortunately, we do not have more pace at the moment and this is our position.”