Alonso reveals Aston Martin’s true problem after costly Canada crash

The 2026 season has been a difficult start for Aston Martin. It was not until the Miami Grand Prix that they managed to have both drivers finish a race. With no upgrades planned until the summer break, Alonso and Lance Stroll are working with what they have.

During the sprint qualifying session, it seemed as if Alonso had enough pace to get into SQ2. The Spaniard was in P14 with only two minutes to go. Unfortunately, he crashed soon after. This triggered a red flag, and due to the damage, a barrier repair. Speaking after the incident, Alonso explained, “I locked up the front, and you're a passenger after that. There is no room to avoid anything here in Canada, too much on the limit.”

Alonso’s incident marked the fourth red flag of the day after Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, and Esteban Ocon each caused one during FP1. Both Albon's and Ocon’s red flags were caused by them colliding with the wall and debris on the track.

The two-time world champion continued, “We are a little bit behind, and we don't have the pace. So we are P14, I guess. So we were pushing seven or eight places more than what we should have.”

Alonso made it through to SQ2 with his qualifying time, as those below him could not improve. This is partially due to the limited time left on the clock and the drivers being unable to cross the line in time to put in another lap. One of those drivers was his teammate, Stroll. The Canadian GP is Stroll’s home race, where the crowd watched him qualify P18.

Despite making it into SQ2, Alonso could not participate in the session because his car was damaged. Thus, he starts the sprint race two positions above Stroll in P16. These are the best qualifying results for Alonso and Stroll this year.

This is Stroll’s second time qualifying 18th (Miami GP) and Alonso’s first time qualifying P16. Alonso’s highest qualifying position before this was P17 (Australian GP and Miami GP). The Canadian GP sprint qualifying marks the first time either Aston Martin driver has made it into Q2.

Despite not bringing upgrades like several other teams, Aston Martin showed some improvement in Canada. The next set of upgrades for Aston Martin is expected to be after the summer break. Speaking after the Miami GP, Alonso said he understood why this was. He said, “I’m at peace because I understand the situation. The team explained to me that if we bring one or two tenths every race, it doesn’t change our position; we are P20 or P19, and the next car is one second in front.”

During FP1, Lawson experienced two technical issues and was unable to continue the practice session. His car stopped on the track due to a loss of power steering and a gear shift issue. As Racing Bulls were unable to resolve the issues before the start of sprint qualifying, Lawson was unable to participate.

Albon is another driver who was unable to participate in sprint qualifying. The British-Thai driver had an unfortunate collision with a groundhog on the track, causing him to hit the wall. His car sustained severe damage which could not be repaired in time.

Both drivers were permitted to start the race from the back of the grid. The Stewards have placed Albon and Lawson at 21 and 22, respectively.