Fernando Alonso shares the ‘catastrophic’ reason he’s behind Lance Stroll in the F1 standings

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Fernando Alonso delivered another commendable qualifying performance at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday. Alonso will start the race from P7, inheriting a place from the penalised Lewis Hamilton.

The Aston Martin driver has now reached Q3 at seven of the last nine races. It’s an impressive run of form for a driver who recently turned 44.

Meanwhile, Lance Stroll extended his record for most Q1 eliminations in F1 history. With Isack Hadjar likely to take an engine penalty, Stroll will line up from 16th.

Alonso has whitewashed Stroll 16-0 in Grand Prix qualifying this year. The Canadian was only the quicker of the two ahead of the Sprint in China.

Fernando Alonso says he’s had ‘catastrophic’ bad luck in races this year

Alonso is one of only two drivers on the grid to sweep the qualifying head-to-head, alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen. 16 places separate Verstappen from teammate Tsunoda.

And yet, Alonso arrives at the Italian Grand Prix behind Stroll in the standings. It’s extremely close, with just two points separating them (30 vs 32).

Alonso has finished ahead in seven of the 12 races where both have been classified, so he feels the table isn’t a fair reflection of his performances. Speaking to journalists including Jorge Peiro at Monza, he said he’d be the victim of ‘catastrophic’ bad luck on Sundays.

According to Peiro, Alonso is statistically having his best season ever in terms of the intra-team qualifying battle.

The former Ferrari driver said: “I’ve been very unlucky in the races because to be behind in points while surely having my best level in qualifying, it means that the fortune I’ve had on Sundays, in terms of safety cars and everything, has been catastrophic.

“I hope this changes for 2026, that I lose some qualifying [fortune] and have a lot of luck on Sundays.”

What bad luck has Fernando Alonso had at Aston Martin this year?

Alonso retired from the Chinese GP in March due to a brake failure, and Stroll went on to finish ninth. A power unit problem ended his race in Monaco after he’d qualified on the third row.

The Spaniard also criticised his team’s strategy at the previous race in the Netherlands despite his P8 finish. Stroll was one spot ahead, breaking the tie.

• READ MORE: Fernando Alonso will love the ‘rumblings’ coming out of Honda ahead of their 2026 Aston Martin partnership

It’s also worth noting that the two-time world champion crashed out of the season opener in Melbourne, a wet/dry race where a big result was up for grabs. Stroll grabbed a P6 that day, so Alonso does bear some of the responsibility.

Alonso was unhappy that Aston Martin raised their ride height at the Dutch GP, a precaution that was taken to comply with the rules. He will be looking forward to legendary designer Adrian Newey taking on a central role from 2026.