Fernando Alonso explains Azerbaijan GP jump start after reacting to Oscar Piastri

Fernando Alonso admitted he got caught out by Oscar Piastri’s jump start, causing him to make the same mistake at the Azerbaijan GP.

Alonso was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start in Baku on Sunday.

Starting from 11th on the grid, Alonso moved before the five red lights disappeared.

The Spaniard had Piastri ahead of him, who did the same first.

Piastri moved too soon before his McLaren went into anti-stall.

Unlike Alonso, whose start was unaffected, Piastri dropped to the back of the grid.

Piastri didn’t serve his five-second penalty after crashing out of the race on the opening lap.

Alonso would go on to finish 15th, with Aston Martin struggling for race pace in Baku.

Explaining what happened on Lap 1, Alonso said: “I reacted to Oscar’s movement. Obviously we went before the lights unfortunately.

“I think probably it didn’t change much in the race outcome because we were very, very slow today. We need to improve for the next one.”

Alonso predicts further Aston Martin struggles

Aston Martin have endured an inconsistent 2025 F1 campaign.

After a slow start, a raft of mid-season upgrades seemed to turn their season around.

Alonso and Lance Stroll were in the fight for pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Alonso ultimately finished fifth at the Hungaroring.

The two-time world champion expects Las Vegas and Mexico to be another two difficult races for the team.

“I think we have a car that has certain characteristics,” Alonso explained.

“Not the ones of Monza, not the ones of Baku and not the ones of Vegas or Mexico. I suspect in Vegas and Mexico we’llbe at the back of the grid. There are another four races that hopefully we can take opportunities and score a few points.”

On the other side of the Aston Martin garage, Stroll finished 17th.

Reflecting on his race, Stroll said: “Well we stayed out for a long time hoping for a Safety Car in the first stint and then it never came so that was the end of our race.

“Hopefully Singapore we’re more competitive and we can have a better weekend there.”