F1 NEWS: Aston Martin Driver Alonso Escape Major Disaster After…read more

F1 NEWS: Aston Martin Driver Alonso Escape Major Disaster After…read more

Fernando Alonso was lucky to escape a serious crash after his Aston Martin suffered a brake failure during the Chinese Grand Prix. The Spanish driver was forced to retire on Lap 4 when his rear brakes overheated, causing smoke to billow from his car.

Alonso was running in the midfield when the issue occurred, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly even reporting flames from the Aston Martin’s brakes. Despite the danger, Alonso managed to slow the car and return to the pits, where his team made the call to retire him from the race.

This marked Alonso’s second consecutive DNF in 2025, following a crash in Australia. Reflecting on the incident, the 43-year-old acknowledged how fortunate he was that the failure happened in a relatively safe section of the track.

“The brakes were overheating from the start, and by Lap 3 or 4, the brake pedal went straight to the bottom of the chassis it was terrifying,” Alonso said. “Thankfully, it happened in Turn 1, where I could still control the car. If it had been at Turn 14, it could have led to a massive crash, taking out several cars.”

Despite Alonso’s early exit, his teammate Lance Stroll secured points for Aston Martin, finishing ninth in Shanghai after a sixth-place result in Melbourne. Stroll’s 10 points have helped the team move up to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Sauber, Racing Bulls, and Alpine.

However, Stroll acknowledged that Aston Martin still has improvements to make if they want to compete for points consistently. “We have a lot to work on if we want to regularly finish in the points,” he admitted.

With the team shifting its focus to the 2026 regulations, Aston Martin will still aim to improve its 2025 car, while Alonso hopes for a trouble-free race at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.