MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aston Martin has predicted it is unlikely to finish Formula 1's season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday without its drivers risking suffering permanent nerve damage.
Adrian Newey, the F1 car design great who’s heading into his first race as Aston Martin’s team principal, said Thursday the team's Honda power unit causes vibrations which could damage the hands of drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Neither will likely be able to tolerate even half of the 58-lap race distance, Newey added.
Aston Martin had a poor preseason, often slower even than new team Cadillac and it logged the fewest laps of all 11 teams.
“That vibration (transmitted from Honda’s power unit) into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems,” said Newey.
“Mirrors falling off the air, tail lights falling off, that sort of thing, which we are having to address. But, the much more significant problem with that is that that vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver’s fingers.
“So Fernando is of the feeling that he can’t do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage into his hands. Lance is of the opinion that he can’t do more than 15 laps before that threshold.
“We are going to have to be very heavily restricted on how many laps we do in the race until we get on top of the source of the vibration — and to improve the vibration at source.”
Despite the long list of issues, Newey says the AMR26 car has tremendous potential as F1 starts a new era of regulations.
He argued the chassis is F1’s fifth-best behind the expected top-teams Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull and that, following an aggressive development program, has the potential to run at the front at some point in 2026.
Alonso, though, is keeping the faith until Friday practice in Melbourne, where he believes fixes on the car might provide a sunnier outlook.
“For us, it’s just vibrating everything,” the two-time F1 champion said.
“But it’s not only for us. The car is struggling a little bit, so that’s why we have some issues, some reliability problems that made our days slightly short.
“Since (pre-season testing in) Bahrain, there were a couple of tests done and some of the solutions are implemented on the car now, so (I’m) curious to see what (happens) tomorrow (and) if we can improve.”
Its disappointing performance has been variously attributed to a compressed design time due to late arrival; Honda’s need to rebuild its research and development capabilities after leaving Red Bull, the challenge of producing a new in-house gearbox, and the team running a so-far unproven fuels partner in Aramco.
But it’s the side effects that will likely sideline its cars early in Sunday’s race at Albert Park.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll of Canada arrives at the track ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain arrives at the track ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey, left, talks with a team member as he arrives at the track ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Voting was peaceful Thursday in Nepal's first nationwide election since a violent, youth-led uprising forced the government from power in September.
Security forces patrolled streets and guarded polling stations across the Himalayan nation of about 30 million people as voters lined up to cast their ballots. Vote counting is set to begin later Thursday, with results expected over the weekend.
Campaigning and voting through Thursday had not been disrupted by any incidents of violence, officials said.
“There is huge excitement about this election among the people, and we anticipate the voter turnout to be at least 65%,” Nepal’s acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said.
Authorities banned vehicles from the streets and prohibited political rallies and public gatherings. All forms of campaigning are barred on election day.
People crowded polling stations from the mountains in the north to the southern plains districts. At the main square in capital city Kathmandu, men and women stood in separate lines under the warm spring sun while police officers and soldiers maintained a tight security presence around the area.
“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing better Nepal,” said Luniva, a first-time voter. “Hopefully, I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made.”
Others shared similar hopes that the election could usher in positive change for the Himalayan nation after months of political unrest.
“I felt someone I am able to fulfill and responsibility as a person and a citizen because each of our votes matters,” said Sanjiya Shrestha, who walked to the polling station despite begin visually impaired.
Young voters joined older generations at polling stations across the country, with many lining up even before voting began at 7 a.m.
There are about 19 million registered voters among the country’s nearly 30 million people, according to the Election Commission of Nepal.
Millions of Nepalis living overseas are unable to take part in the vote. An estimated 3 million citizens work abroad — largely in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and neighboring India — and cannot cast ballots because the country does not yet have a system allowing voting from abroad.
Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.
The election is widely seen as a three-way contest, shaped by voter frustration over widespread corruption and demands for greater government accountability.
The National Independent Party, founded in 2022, is considered the front-runner, posing a strong challenge to two long-dominant parties: the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).
The new party’s prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral race and emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Shah, 35, has rode a wave of public anger toward traditional political parties. He highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus during his campaign.
The protests against corruption and poor governance were triggered by a social media ban before snowballing into a popular revolt against the government. Dozens were killed and hundreds injured when protesters attacked government buildings and police opened fire on them.
While the Congress and the Communists retain loyal voter bases, Shah’s party has drawn larger crowds on the campaign trail, highlighting its growing appeal among younger voters seeking an alternative.
Shah was among the first one to reach polling station at a local school in Kathmandu. He lives in the capital but is contesting from a district in southeast Nepal against Oli. He did not speak to reporters.
The next administration is expected to inherit daunting challenges. It must deliver on changes demanded by last year’s protests, tackle entrenched corruption and carefully manage ties with its powerful neighbors, India and China.
Balendra Shah, foreground, former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and prime ministerial candidate of the Rastriya Swatantra Party casts his vote at a polling station for the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A Nepalese police officer stands guard near a ballot box as the voting commences for the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
People wait in a queue to cast their votes for the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station for the parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A election office staff carries ballot boxes to be loaded and transported to various polling stations a day ahead of parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Army men patrol and as they inspect polling stations a day ahead of parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Election staff set up polling stations a day ahead of parliamentary election in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
