Fernando Alonso told he ‘should have more influence’ to reject Aston Martin mistake that ruined his Belgian Grand Prix

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Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s recent revival met its end in the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, as he finished in just P17 and without a point for the first time since May.

The Spaniard, who turned 44 years old this Tuesday, had taken points in each of his previous four Grand Prix starts to snap his worst start to an F1 season since 2015. Alonso did not post a single point until the Spanish Grand Prix in round nine but he has since recorded 16 points.

Spa saw the end of Alonso’s point-scoring streak, though, as the Oviedo native and his team from Silverstone stomached a weekend to forget. Aston Martin failed to score a point across the F1 Sprint in the Ardennes or the Belgian GP to drop behind Racing Bulls in the standings.

Lance Stroll led Aston Martin’s hopes in Saturday’s Sprint at Spa, as Alonso followed the 26-year-old for P13 and P14 from P15 and P14 on the grid. The Canadian even led their efforts in Sunday’s Belgian GP for P14 and P17, as Alonso struggled to recover after his pit lane start.

Marc Surer thinks Fernando Alonso should have rejected Aston Martin’s high downforce Belgian GP set-up

Aston Martin removed Alonso’s car from the grid after he qualified P19 for the Belgian GP to change his engine. The Spaniard received his fifth internal combustion engine, turbocharger and electric MGU-H and MGU-K units so far this season, which exceeded his permitted four.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

But Marc Surer thinks Alonso should also have told Aston Martin to change his set-up after only Stroll set a slower lap time in Q1. The team elected to add more downforce to each of their cars for qualifying with rain on the forecast for the Belgian GP, which also added drag.

Alonso annoyed Martin Brundle during qualifying for the Belgian GP, as well, after he cried foul when rival drivers tried to force their way into the fast lane in the pits. But the set-ups that Aston Martin ran ultimately hindered Alonso and Stroll’s speed in Sunday’s Belgian GP.

“It was certainly due to the car’s set-up,” he told Motorsport-Total. “But with his experience, he should have more influence here.”

F1’s rain delay cost Fernando Alonso more than Aston Martin’s set-up at Spa

Aston Martin might still feel the team made the right decision before qualifying to add more downforce for Alonso and Stroll’s set-ups for Sunday’s Belgian GP to try to pre-empt the rain on the forecast. But the length of the delay to start the race was what hindered their hopes.

Had the Belgian GP started even 30 minutes sooner after the initial heavy rain cloud cleared the track, a lot of the race could still have then taken place on intermediate tyres with which Alonso and Stroll could also make use of their additional downforce to try to make progress.

Instead, the dry circuit on which the Belgian GP was run after the first seven racing laps took Aston Martin’s advantage away from Alonso and Stroll. It also did not help Alonso that Aston Martin pitted the Spaniard for a second time on Lap 29 of 44, which demoted him from P13.