The weekend for Fernando Alonso is not looking good at all. During qualifying for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Aston Martin driver faced an unexpected “unknown issue” on the AMR24 that prevented him from completing his final attempt in Q1, further complicating his situation for Sunday’s race in the Imola circuit.
Saturday began with problems for Alonso, who suffered an accident in the third free practice session, hitting the wall. Despite the titanic effort of the mechanics, who dedicated several hours to repairing the vehicle, the Spaniard did not manage to pass the first round of classification.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Alonso expressed his gratitude to the green team for the work done in the AMR24: “The team was incredible today, it was very good to be all together looking at qualifying, and they managed to get the car ready “I have to thank everyone.” However, the technical problem that forced him to return to the garage remains unresolved.
Alonso also detailed the technical problems they tried to overcome: “Unfortunately, it is difficult to know what happened, and they were making me go through the pitlane to give me more laps with an attempt in qualifying.” According to the driver, the car initially had excess gasoline, which made it heavy, but it was lightened until he was forced to stop due to the unknown problem. “It’s one of those days when it’s not the day,” he said.
Looking ahead to the race, from which he will start last, Alonso was not optimistic due to the characteristics of the Imola circuit, known for its limited overtaking opportunities: “It will be a painful race, because Imola is the second most difficult circuit to overtake. Behind Monaco, even Singapore is easier, so it will be tough,” he said.