F1 teams 'raise complaint' over 'glitchy' car part after Chinese GP failures

Formula 1 teams have raised a complaint about a 'glitchy' car part after the Chinese Grand Prix, it has been reported.

Only 15 of the 22 drivers finished the Grand Prix in Shanghai, with all seven retirements caused by various mechanical issues.

In the case of Aston Martin, both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso suffered from heavy vibrations on their Honda power unit which is preventing them from completing full race distances.

Alonso pulled out after 34 laps, telling reporters that he was 'struggling a little bit to feel my hands and my feet', while Stroll suffered a battery problem that curtailed his running early after nine laps.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen retired with an mechanical issue, while four drivers - Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto and the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris - failed to even start the race.

In the case of both McLarens, Piastri and Norris each suffered a separate electrical problem which the team are yet to officially confirm.

Team principal Andrea Stella told reporters (via The Athletic) that Norris encountered a battery fault, with the team replacing the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in an attempt to fix the problem.

The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had to be wheeled off the starting grid (Image: Getty)

According to journalist Nelson Valkenburg, who works as a commentator for Dutch outlet Viaplay, a number of teams have raised complaints about the ECU part - effectively the controlling segment of the power unit.

He claims that Red Bull have described the part as 'glitchy', and that teams are concerned whether the part is 'clever enough to deal with all the computations that are needed per lap'.

"Ferrari were unhappy with how it worked during qualifying," Valkenburg stated on the 'Nailing The Apex' podcast. "We've seen McLaren also having issues.

"There are people very unhappy with a centrally sourced, centrally provided component that is incredibly important to how this regulation set works. So I think the FIA is really trying to find a way to make that work better."

What happened to Verstappen and Red Bull?

Verstappen's retirement, in particular, would have been of concern to Red Bull given that team-mate Isack Hadjar suffered a terminal power unit issue in the opening stages of the Australian Grand Prix.

Red Bull are building their own power unit, effectively from scratch, this year in collaboration with Ford, having previously worked alongside Honda.

The team say that Verstappen's retirement was caused by a coolant failure in the energy recovery system (ERS), which is an increasingly important part of the battery under the new 2026 regulations.

The Dutchman was running in sixth place at the time of his retirement, albeit comfortably behind the top four Mercedes and Ferrari drivers.

Verstappen told F1TV: "I mean, a lot to learn from.

"It's definitely not where we want to be, of course, but I also know that the team is giving it everything, so it's frustrating for me but also frustrating for them.

"At the end of the day, we need to try and figure it out together.

"We'll of course try to be a bit better for Japan, but after that we have a bit of a bigger break now that hopefully we can use to sort some stuff out."