Fernando Alonso has offered a realistic view of Aston Martin’s potential ahead of the Formula 1 US Grand Prix, despite qualifying 13th.
The two-time World Champion and his Silverstone-based team have endured a difficult 2026 season. From reliability concerns to poor race-day performances, the season has offered rare glimpses of hope. However, Alonso’s starting grid position of 13th, places the Spaniard in a prime spot to capitalise off early race chaos.
The Aston Martin driver was quick to set expectations before Sunday’s race, claiming that the team’s starting position may not accurately reflect its underlying pace.
“Obviously, I think on merit we are P15 or P16,” Alonso told media, including Motorsport Week.
“So, you know, some fast cars are coming from behind tomorrow as a threat. So, we need to keep an eye on that and then the performance we see.”
Despite his concerns, Alonso remains hopeful that Aston Martin can produce a stronger performance on race day, with the team occasionally demonstrating better pace on Sundays than during qualifying.
“Sometimes on Sundays we are better than Saturdays. That’s true, and hopefully tomorrow is one of those days,” he added.
Alonso explains Aston Martin’s unexpected qualifying pace
Whilst recognising the pace deficit his car may have to the rest of the midfield, Alonso revealed that the circuit layout had provided a positive surprise for Aston Martin.
Ultimately, this allowed the team to fit into the midfield battle much more closely than they expected.
When asked about qualifying ahead of its main rivals, Cadillac and Williams, Alsono pointed toward the circuit characteristics.
“I think the layout, yeah, has been a kind of positive surprise,” Alonso said.
“You know, the level of competitiveness here compared to them, you know, and there are two long straights but apart from that I think the rest of it is more power limited and, yeah, we seem to struggle a little bit less.”
However, the Spaniard admitted that the result didn’t come without its own challenges. Alonso explained that the overall balance was great with his AMR-26. But the continued inconsistencies with the PU impacted his confidence throughout the session.
“The car was good. We only had some issues on the power unit, delivering torque into the corners a little bit inconsistent,” he continued.
“Some laps we had, you know, push. Sometimes we had like a handbraking feeling in the middle of the corners. So, that was the thing that removes a little bit of confidence in the driver.”
Alonso’s concession that the AMR26 is slower than its grid position suggests the two time world champion expects a difficult race in Austin.
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