The Spaniard suffers a lock-up in Q1 that leaves him nineteenth and he will start last due to engine penalties. He acknowledges that the AMR26 has improved in the corners but warns that the lack of top speed is an insurmountable burden in Azerbaijan.
Fernando Alonso has experienced a weekend to forget at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Spanish driver who already knew that he would start from the back of the grid due to penalties for changing components of his power unit, saw how his qualifying ended earlier than expected after a lock-up in Q1. The Asturian had managed to get among the first sixteen with competitive times but a mistake on the approach to the third sector left him nineteenth and without options to fight for a more ambitious objective.
"I pushed on entering turn 15 and the wheels locked up so it was a driver error and that's why, we're not on pole" Alonso declared with a good dose of irony. The Spaniard, far from dramatizing preferred to focus on the positive aspects of the day: "Today I'm much happier than yesterday with the car, we made many changes to the setup during the night and I felt much safer in FP3 and in qualifying. I've been able to squeeze the car and the times came more easily, I think we were 2.5 seconds from the leaders" he explained.
The improvement in the behavior of the AMR26 is a ray of hope in the middle of a weekend marked by problems. Alonso highlighted that the car has taken a step forward in the corners although the lack of top speed remains its Achilles heel: "Despite the disadvantages we have on the straights, I think we have taken a step forward in the corners compared to yesterday" he noted, however the reality is harsh: in the third sector of Baku, that kilometer of endless straight, the AMR26 loses more than a second compared to its direct rivals, which transforms into a devastating fact that is aggravated by an even more worrying statistic: all the Formula 2 cars reached higher top speed than the British car during Thursday's day.
The problems with the Honda engine have been a constant throughout the season but in Baku they have reached dramatic levels. Alonso was forced to mount his previous power unit again due to an oil leak suffered in FP2 which added more complexity to an already complicated situation. The Asturian far from giving up keeps his sights set on the upcoming triple header: Baku, Sepang and Singapore: "The objective for tomorrow? Try to finish the race without making mistakes like today's and without crashing the car. We're not playing for many important positions so it's fundamental to keep the car in good condition ahead of the triple header, we have to take care of the standard parts and things like that" he concluded.
Saturday's race presents itself as an exercise in survival for Alonso, without the possibility of fighting for points, the Spaniard will focus his efforts on completing the 51 laps without incidents and on collecting valuable data for the team. The 2026 season is being a calvary for Aston Martin but Alonso's capacity for resistance and his experience are assets that the team will need to face the challenges that lie ahead.
