Alonso stranded in Q1 as engine failure ruins Mexico GP qualifying for Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso will start the Mexico Grand Prix from 18th on the grid after a power unit failure ended his qualifying session prematurely at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday, with the Aston Martin driver completing just one flying lap before his AMR26 came to a stop in the stadium section with 11 minutes remaining in Q1.

The timing was particularly painful for the two-time world champion. At the moment his car ground to a halt, Alonso was the fastest of the 11 drivers who had set a time, only to eventually fall into the elimination zone — finishing 0.387 seconds short of a Q2 berth.

“Huge problems with temperatures for everybody,” Alonso said. “So, when you start at the back, there is no way you can follow cars closely or something like that. There is not much we can do. I think we lost a big opportunity. So, yeah, frustration is beyond imagination. But this is the story of the year.”

The retirement denied Alonso a third Q2 appearance in five rounds. Aston Martin had been building momentum since introducing upgrades at Budapest and Zandvoort either side of the summer break, and Mexico had appeared to offer another opportunity to extend that run.

When asked whether a Q3 appearance might have been within reach, Alonso was measured. “Probably difficult. We were P12, P13, P11, so we were in the window. If we put a good lap, maybe it was possible, but I think that was probably too optimistic. Maybe P13, P12 was our position today.”

Team-mate Lance Stroll fared even worse, qualifying 20th, leaving Aston Martin with both cars at the back of the grid ahead of Sunday’s race.