Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok gave a ‘nightmare’ verdict for Aston Martin after Fernando Alonso only qualified in 20th place for the Emilia Romagna GP this Saturday.
The 42-year-old had a day to forget at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. He put Aston Martin on the backfoot before qualifying at the Emilia Romagna GP after crashing in last practice. Alonso then did not find a groove to get into Q2 for the first time in 11 races.
Alonso last failed to get out of Q1 at the 2023 United States GP, when the Aston Martin star also retired from the race. The 2024 Emilia Romagna GP will also now see Alonso start from the back row of the grid for the first time since the 2016 Malaysian GP whilst with McLaren.
Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin a ‘nightmare’ in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP
Aston Martin will hope Alonso can carve his way through the field at Imola on Sunday like he did in Sepang eight years ago. The two-time F1 drivers’ champion achieved points in seventh place from 22nd on the grid. But the 2016 Malaysian GP saw six drivers retire from the race.
Alonso will start the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP from 20th after only managing a 1:16.917 lap in qualifying. His lap time was 0.313s from making it through to Q2 and costing Lewis Hamilton a place in the top 15. Alonso even aborted his last attempt to make it out of the bottom five.
READ MORE: 5 unforgettable Emilia Romagna GP moments, with Bottas and Russell’s crash
The sight of Alonso’s AMR24 peeling into the pit lane having been unable to improve his lap time surprised Chandhok. The ex-HRT driver also believes Alonso only qualifying in 20th was a ‘nightmare’ result for Aston Martin, for whom Lance Stroll would only qualify in 13th place.
“Alonso’s in the pits,” Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1 (18/5, 15:18). “Fernando Alonso is out of qualifying, last on the timesheet and in the pits! So, that is a nightmare for Aston Martin.”
Aston Martin re-fitted most of their upgrades to Fernando Alonso’s car after his FP3 crash
Alonso left Aston Martin with a race against time to prepare a car for qualifying after his FP3 crash. The Oviedo native brought out the red flags after finding the barriers following a spin through Rivazza two. He smacked the wall with the left hand of his car after losing the rear.
Aston Martin still fitted the vast majority of the upgrades the Silverstone team took to Imola to Alonso’s car following his crash in FP3. But the Spaniard struggled to extract enough pace from the package for a spot in Q2. Now, he will start from the last row of the grid on Sunday.
The post ‘Nightmare’: Chandhok issues stern Alonso verdict after Imola GP woes appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
