Fernando Alonso says the 2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend has proved “the truth” about Aston Martin’s progress and marks a “significant step forward” with its Imola upgrades.
The Spanish crowd had reason to cheer as Alonso reached Q3 on home soil, ultimately qualifying 10th for Sunday’s race.
An ERS failure denied him a first points finish of the season in Monaco – his third DNF of 2025 – after coming agonisingly close with three 11th-place finishes in Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Imola.
But with improved pace in Barcelona, Alonso may feel his fortunes are finally starting to turn, buoyed by Aston Martin’s step forward.
He completed just one flying lap in Q3 before returning to the pits, soaking in the roar of the home fans.
Afterwards, Alonso reflected on the importance of the weekend in gauging Aston Martin’s progress since its recent upgrade package debuted at Imola.
With consistent top-10 pace throughout practice and qualifying, the Spaniard felt the team finally had a clear picture of where it stood on a conventional circuit
“I think the whole weekend we’ve been in the top ten positions in all the practices and in qualifying as well,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“This was a real test for us; the truth will come out in Barcelona.
“The truth is that we made the car better since Imola.
“We cannot forget where we come from; in Miami, we were probably the tenth fastest team, we finished 20 seconds behind Sauber in the race.
“So definitely some steps into the right direction.”
Cautious optimism from Alonso after strong Barcelona qualifying
After his retirement on the streets of Monte Carlo, the F1 veteran expressed his readiness to endure further bad luck and DNFs if it meant Aston Martin could become a genuine title contender in 2026.
When asked whether the strong qualifying performance in Barcelona offered renewed hope, despite his usual disinterest in chasing minor points, Alonso was cautiously optimistic.
“Yeah, definitely, I think it relieved a little bit, some pressure out of the shoulders,” he explained.
“As I said, the Imola package was a step forward, but we didn’t know how much.
“We were just coming to Barcelona to answer that question and I think the answer is positive.
“The answer is that it’s a significant step forward and the car can be in the fight for Q3 at least on a normal racetrack, and that’s obviously a different story than pre-Miami.”
On the matter of securing a points finish today, he added: “Let’s see, I think we are just on the edge of the points and there are some fast cars behind for sure, [Alex] Albon P11 with an extra new set of tyres because they didn’t make it to Q3.
“So there are at least five or six cars in contention for the last two or three positions in the points, so we are one of them.
“We need to make things perfect tomorrow if we want to score a point.”
READ MORE – Fernando Alonso expects Barcelona to stay in F1 despite Madrid arrival in 2026
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