F1 News: Fernando Alonso Hits Dead End - 'One of Those Days That Everything Goes Wrong'

Fernando Alonso experienced a series of setbacks at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, resulting in one of his most challenging F1 weekends.

May 2, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Aston Matrin driver Fernando Alonso (14) talks to the / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Fernando Alonso's challenging weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was marred by multiple setbacks. After a crash in Free Practice 3 and difficulties during qualifying, the Aston Martin driver reflected on what he described as one of his toughest weekends, finishing P19 only ahead of Williams' Logan Sargeant.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix proved to be a difficult outing for Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, whose hopes for a competitive qualifying session were dashed early. The veteran driver faced significant challenges right from the start, beginning with a crash in F3 that necessitated extensive repairs to his car, including a crucial gearbox change.

During qualifying, Alonso's struggles continued. In Q1, he wasn't able to put down a positive lap time, with the car potentially being over-fuelled and heavy because of that. With him struggling to put the perfect lap together, he ended up stranded at the bottom of the timesheets. His first lap remained his quickest, but with Logan Sargeant having a lap time deleted pushing him down to P20, Alonso at least gained one place, giving him P19.

"It is hard. Obviously I was lacking laps today [and] we put fuel in the car for qualifying... Eventually I did my best lap on the very first lap, with a lot of fuel in the car, so I think there is more pace, but yeah, [it’s been] one of those days..." Alonso recounted, as quoted by Formula 1.

Further complicating Alonso's session, minutes before the end of Q1, he was involved in an incident that led to an investigation for potentially impeding Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. Although this incident did not result in a penalty, it added to the overall gloom of his weekend. Oscar Piastri wasn't so lucky, receiving a 3-place grid penalty after a blisteringly fast lap, pushing him from P2 to P5.

Reflecting on his misfortunes and looking ahead, Alonso did not mince words about the implications of his performance. "Extremely tough. I think the weekend is heavily compromised, or basically over. But as I said, it’s one of those weekends, one of those days that everything goes wrong, and hopefully [we'll have] a better weekend in Monaco," he said.

While Max Verstappen seized pole position and newcomers like Oscar Piastri impressed by securing spots at the front of the grid - before him penalty at least - Alonso's experience in Imola was starkly different.