Aston Martin experienced a qualifying Saturday (5) to forget at the 2026 Italian GP of Formula 1. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished in the last two positions on the starting grid in Monza, with the Spaniard in 21st and the Canadian in 22nd, after the team failed to advance to Q2.
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The main problem pointed out by the team is precisely the high-speed characteristics of the Italian circuit. According to Alonso, the lack of performance on the straights left Aston Martin at a disadvantage. In addition, a problem with the car further reduced the Spaniard’s possibilities in qualifying.
“We are investigating a problem with the car that kept us in the garage at the end of Q1. We lost the opportunity to use a set of new tires, which shortened our qualifying and did not give us a chance to improve our lap time. We know we are behind our competitors, especially due to the lack of pace we have on the straights, which makes this circuit very difficult,” said the two-time world champion.
Stroll had a similar opinion about Aston Martin’s performance. For the Canadian, the result was already within the team’s expectations: “Today’s result was what we expected and we always knew this track would be a real challenge. We are lacking power, which is what you need on this circuit. It will be a tough race for us tomorrow.”
The difficulty was also highlighted by Mike Krack. The Aston Martin boss explained that the team tried to work with the slipstream between the two cars during Q1, but did not find enough performance to compete for a spot in the second part of the session.
“A difficult Saturday in Monza, with the high-speed characteristics of this track not being suitable for our package at the moment. We tried to slipstream with both cars throughout Q1, but we simply lacked the pace to advance to Q2. Tomorrow will be a similar challenge, so we will try to maximize the things we can control and take advantage of any opportunity that arises.”
The start of the Italian GP is scheduled for 10:00 this Sunday. F1MANIA.NET provides live coverage.
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