Fernando Alonso to Start Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from Pit Lane After Suspension Changes

Fernando Alonso, Spanish driver for the Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24, will start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix of Formula 1 from the pit lane due to changes made to the suspension setup of his car. Alonso faced difficulties throughout the weekend in Imola, starting with a spin into the barriers during FP3 that put his participation in qualifying at risk. Despite his team’s efforts to get him back on track for Q1, Alonso entered turn 3 too fast on his second attempt and ended up in the gravel. This resulted in his premature elimination, with the slowest time on the leaderboard. However, even with gaining a position due to Logan Sargeant’s lap being excluded, Aston Martin decided to withdraw Alonso’s car from the grid to make modifications. These adjustments breach parc ferme regulations, leading the FIA stewards to confirm that Alonso will start the 63-lap race from the pit lane. Aston Martin had started the weekend with renewed optimism after implementing a significant upgrade package, but Alonso’s teammate, Lance Stroll, also failed to advance to Q2. Alonso had previously mentioned that starting from the pit lane could be a beneficial option for the Silverstone-based team, as it would help avoid potential collisions during the race start. He acknowledged that scoring points in the Grand Prix may be unrealistic given the circumstances.