David Coulthard believes Aston Martin’s vibration problems are a bigger threat to reliability than driver comfort

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes that the vibration issues that Aston Martin is battling against are ‘more of an issue for the reliability than for the driver’.

Aston Martin has had a difficult start to the year. With a new power unit partnership with Honda and the first Aston Martin F1 car designed under Adrian Newey, expectations were high for the Silverstone outfit. But reliability and vibration issues have plagued the team.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix due to excessive vibration in the cockpit. The Spanish driver claimed that he “began to lose all feeling in his hands and feet” prior to his retirement.

Coulthard argued during the Up To Speed podcast that the vibrations could be affecting the drivers less than we think.

“Let’s again keep things in perspective, and I’m talking with no knowledge of what he’s feeling in the car,” the former Red Bull driver said. “But I looked at the video, and I’ve experienced flat spots on tyres, wheel weights coming off, and you get the vibration in the steering.

“The steering’s physically doing that. I never stopped if it was a Grand Prix because you want the points. If it were a pitstop that was available, you do it.

“Have you seen these guys that work construction with the jackhammers, and they’re doing that all day, every day? We don’t see them sort of going, ‘No, I’m not going to come. I’m not doing work today because the job of being a jackhammer guy is making my hands sore.’

“So is it a little bit of a convenience thing just to continue to put the spotlight on Honda? I suspect it’s more that vibration is an issue for the reliability than for the driver.

“Because here’s my take on it, a driver would learn to sing a national anthem backwards while juggling chainsaws if it gave him a tenth of a second.”