Alonso (Aston Martin-Honda): “We know who’s to blame; we’re not blind”

The proud Aston Martin team found themselves in the bottom ranks after the first qualifying segment at Monza – that hurts. Fernando Alonso was only 21st after Q1, with Lance Stroll finishing last. It doesn’t get any worse than this.

Alonso, winner of 32 Grand Prix races: “We knew Monza would be the worst circuit for us, perhaps with the exception of Las Vegas. We’re losing a massive amount of time; we’ve got a big deficit on the straights. The data is clear; we’re not blind. We need to work on performance, and there are clear targets for next year.”

“Our chassis is very good; we saw that at the Hungaroring and at Zandvoort. There are tracks that suit us better, but even that doesn’t worry me too much this year because we’re at the back of the field anyway.”

“If the opportunity arises to pick up another point, fine. If not, that’s fine too. It won’t change our mindset for a better 2027. We’re not where we should be, and everything is a mountain to climb for us right now – there are so many things we need to improve. With the chassis, we’ve found the right direction to improve next year, but we need to do the same with the engine.”

Alonso on Honda: “We’re driving 90 per cent of the lap at full throttle here. Yes, we’ve improved, particularly in terms of driveability, but that’s something you’ll notice more in Madrid or Singapore. At Monza, power is simply more important than driveability.”

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Monza: Das Rennen

FIA Formula One World Championship

06.09.2026 - 13:00

Energy management with the 2026 cars remains both a question mark and a source of frustration. As Alonso points out: “Driving these hybrid cars in the Temple of Speed is strange. In Barcelona we reach 360 kilometres per hour and 355 in Hungary; on those two circuits we have no problem with sufficient electric power. Here it’s about 312. Sorry, but that’s no longer the Temple of Speed.”