Fernando Alonso says he was struggling to feel his hands and feet during Chinese Grand Prix

The ‌two-time Formula 1 World Champion had pinned high hopes on the 2026 engine and chassis reset - the biggest regulatory overhaul in decades - and on design guru Adrian Newey’s first ​car for the British team, but the outfit struggled at ​the back of the field.

"On lap 20 to 35, I ⁠was struggling a bit to feel my hands and my feet," ​the Spaniard told reporters. "We were one lap behind, we were last, and ​there was probably no point to keep going."

Honda, whose engines powered Max Verstappen to four drivers’ F1 World Championships with Red Bull, are up against it to identify and ​fix the issue ahead of their home race in Japan in ​two weeks’ time.

Alonso told reporters that there were "artificial" fixes, but that the engine needed ‌more ⁠time on the dyno to determine how to run it in a way that would make racing his AMR26 more bearable.

Alonso explained: "There's lowering the RPM (revs per minute) of the engine and things like that, so that the thing vibrates ​less, but in ​the race obviously ⁠you still need to go high in the RPM when you make an overtake or you need to ​recharge.

"We need to give Honda more time ​to ⁠understand the vibrations and where they come from," he added.

Alonso's teammate, Lance Stroll, who also retired from the race, was more dismissive.

"Unless they can find some ⁠magic ​in the next 10 days, pray. Pray for ​me," the Canadian driver said when asked whether he thought Honda could fix the issue ​ahead of the next race. (Reporting by Joe Cash)