Fernando Alonso has endured a tough start to 2025 but at Imola his fortune appears to have turned.
Aston Martin was the slowest team outright at Miami. But they introduced an upgrade for their car this weekend which, together with a bold strategy in qualifying, moved them up into the top half of the field on outright pace.
Alonso took full advantage, planting his car on the third row of the grid, with only the McLarens, Max Verstappen and George Russell ahead of him.
Change from practice to qualifying
There wasn’t much sign of Aston Martin’s impending change of fortune on Friday, when Lance Stroll was first to run their extensive upgrade.
But in qualifying both drivers reached Q2, then switched to the medium tyre compound, having saved an extra set by not running it in practice. Alonso and Stroll reached Q3 at the expense of the Ferrari drivers.
That may well have flattered the gains Aston Martin have made with their upgrade. Ferrari was one of four teams which were slower in qualifying than they were in practice.
This was because all teams found it hard to extract pace from the soft tyre. Nonetheless, most persisted with it in qualifying, preferring to keep a fresh set of mediums for the race. It won’t be clear until tomorrow who has made the right call.
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Gaps between team mates
Imola is a demanding track and the gaps between the team mates were generally larger than in Miami. There is no value for the Red Bull drivers as Tsunoda crashed before he could complete a lap in qualifying. He had been over a second off Verstappen’s pace in final practice, but much closer the day before.
Team mate battle sequences
Having been 3-0 down after the first three grands prix, Carlos Sainz Jnr is now leading the qualifying battle at Williams 4-3 against Alexander Albon.
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Out-qualified team mate
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 19 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | 13 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | 5 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 4 |
| 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 2 |
| = | Isack Hadjar | 2 |
| = | Esteban Ocon | 2 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | 1 |
| = | George Russell | 1 |
Out-qualified by team mate
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lance Stroll | 19 |
| 2 | Yuki Tsunoda | 5 |
| = | Lewis Hamilton | 5 |
| 4 | Alexander Albon | 4 |
| 5 | Nico Hulkenberg | 2 |
| = | Oliver Bearman | 2 |
| = | Liam Lawson | 2 |
| 8 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 1 |
| = | Lando Norris | 1 |
| = | Franco Colapinto | 1 |
Q1 and Q3
As Lance Stroll progressed beyond Q1, Nico Hulkenberg now has the longest run of first-round eliminations of any driver. Charles Leclerc failed to reach Q3 for the first time this year.
Eliminated in Q1
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Hulkenberg | 5 |
| 2 | Oliver Bearman | 2 |
| 3 | Yuki Tsunoda | 1 |
| = | Esteban Ocon | 1 |
| = | Liam Lawson | 1 |
Reached Q3
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | 18 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 14 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | 11 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | 10 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 4 |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | 2 |
| 7 | Isack Hadjar | 1 |
| = | Pierre Gasly | 1 |
| = | Fernando Alonso | 1 |
| = | Lance Stroll | 1 |
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