Incorrect seating position: That’s why Alonso had to retire in Canada

– Fernando Alonso retired from the Canadian Grand Prix due to his seating position in the Aston Martin, which is designed to be even more reclined this year. Aston Martin’s disappointing start to the 2026 Formula 1 season has already been extensively documented, with problems across the entire AMR26 – especially in the powertrain.

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However, the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend revealed another problem after Fernando Alonso had to retire alone due to his seating position on lap 23 of 68.

That was bitter, as Montreal was overall Aston’s best weekend of the season, with Alonso making it into Q2 of the sprint – albeit only because Alex Albon and Liam Lawson did not set times – before running in the top 10 at times during Sunday’s race, helped by fortunate circumstances and some impressive overtaking maneuvers.

Pain while driving

Nevertheless, the two-time Formula 1 world champion felt increasingly intense back pain lap after lap, which eventually led to his retirement, as “we had this problem with the seat”.

“I felt increasingly uncomfortable,” said Alonso. “The position was not right, and since we were outside the points, far from the points zone and with no rain risk, we decided to put an end to the pain. We tried to adjust some things last night, but it didn’t work.”

There is a backstory to this, as between Saturday and Sunday the technicians, together with Alonso, tried to modify the seat. This was to check whether the problem was related to this specific unit, which is adapted to the driver’s shape with a carbon fiber structure and then supports are attached. But the situation did not improve, and in fact, there seems to be no defect in the seat itself.

Aston Martin explains the idea

According to Mike Krack from Aston Martin, the cause primarily lies in the cockpit position, which has been made even flatter compared to previous years. This change aimed to lower the center of gravity and theoretically reduce airflow over the helmet to minimize turbulence and increase performance.

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Photo gallery: All Formula 1 cars of Fernando Alonso

While the problem had already occurred in other races without forcing a driver to retire, the pain in Canada became unbearable. Onboard footage showed Alonso several times moving his left hand from the steering wheel into the cockpit between his legs, both on the straight before the last chicane and approaching turn 8.

Complicating matters was the kerb situation at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Compared to other races, these are used much more frequently, which increased the vibrations.

Modifications planned

Krack said: “He has not really felt comfortable for some time now, but it was never a real obstacle. It was like a pressure point that got worse lap by lap and I think we need to rethink the seating position a bit.”

“With these cars, you always try to sit as low as possible, and if you look at how the drivers have sat in recent years, the position has become more relaxed. We need to check that. Maybe we went one step too far, but that is something we need to look at.”

The team from Silverstone will now try to introduce temporary solutions before the Monaco Grand Prix next weekend. However, as Krack explained, more comprehensive changes could be necessary – ones that directly affect the driver’s position in the cockpit – even if this solution would not be immediately implementable.

Asked whether the problem could be solved with a new seat or if it was due to this specific unit, Krack said: “No, I don’t think so. I think we need to fundamentally rethink the situation and go back to how we did it in the past.”

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