Fernando Alonso Opens Up On Canadian Grand Prix Retirement Due To Seat Discomfort

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso has revealed the reason behind his sudden retirement from last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Alonso made a strong start to the main race, climbing to 10th place and positioning himself as a potential points scorer for Aston Martin.
However, on lap 24, Alonso was forced to pull his Aston Martin to the side of the track and retire from the race for the third time in five grands prix this season.
The retirement means Aston Martin remain rooted to the bottom of the constructors’ championship, with the 44-year-old still without a single point after five races.
In a rare piece of positive news for the team, the issue was not a reliability problem, which has troubled Aston Martin since they entered a new power unit partnership with Honda.
The problem instead stemmed from Alonso’s seat position, which Aston Martin altered this season to lower the centre of gravity and reduce aerodynamic disruption from the drivers’ helmets in the airflow.
Alonso began to feel increasing discomfort in the position as the laps progressed, ultimately leading to his decision to withdraw from the grand prix entirely.
“I felt more and more uncomfortable with the laps,” Alonso told media after the race. “The position doesn’t feel the right one and we were obviously out of the points, quite far from the points and no threat of rain anymore. So we decided to stop the pain.”
Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack confirmed the issue had been developing, describing the discomfort as a persistent pressure point that gradually worsened over time.
“He has been uncomfortable for a while – and never to the point where it was really, like, a show-stopper,” Krack told media. “It’s like a pressure point where you feel that it gets worse and worse.”
Krack acknowledged the team may need to reassess their approach to driver positioning, noting the trend toward increasingly reclined seating positions in modern Formula 1 cars.
“I think we need to reconsider, a little bit, the positioning,” Krack said. “You try with these cars to be as low as you can – and when you look at how the drivers used to sit over the last years, it goes more and more and more into a lying position.”
“Maybe we have gone a step too far, but it’s something we will need to check,” he added, suggesting changes could be made to Alonso’s setup going forward.
Despite the retirement, there are signs of encouragement for Aston Martin, as the vibration problems that had plagued both drivers for much of the season appear to have been resolved by Honda.
Teammate Lance Stroll has now finished two consecutive grands prix, while Alonso himself had recorded back-to-back finishes in Japan and Miami before the Canadian retirement.
The seat discomfort issue is understood to be entirely separate from the earlier vibration problems that had caused significant distress to both Alonso and Stroll during race weekends.
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