‘Worst car and worst engine’ - Fernando Alonso’s brutal Aston Martin verdict

Fernando Alonso labelled his Aston Martin as being the “worst car” with the “worst engine” after qualifying dead last for his home Formula 1 grand prix in Barcelona.

Two-time world champion Alonso could only manage 22nd on the grid as he was out-qualified by Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll for the first time in 42 races on home turf.

Alonso finished a second behind Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and was over four seconds adrift of pole position as Aston Martin’s miserable start to the 2026 season sunk to new depths in Barcelona.

For Alonso, the result was not a surprise, with the 44-year-old Spaniard insisting to media including Crash.net: “I came here knowing we are last and we are last, so no surprises there and everybody has no surprises today.”

Asked whether the high-speed nature of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya had exposed the weaknesses of the AMR26, Alonso replied: "No, no, no. Nothing has been exposed. We knew we have the worst car and the worst engine and we've been very clear in every race so far that we have to work.

“In the second part of the year arrives a new car on the aerodynamic side, arrives a new engine and we have hopes there. We opted for this strategy, we repeat every weekend, and we will arrive in Austria in two weeks and we will be last in qualifying, and you will tell me if that exposes some of the weaknesses of the car.

“We know the weaknesses, we know that we have to work and we are on it.”

Alonso also downplayed his qualifying record over Stroll and insisted the Canadian does not get enough credit for his performances.

"I mean I had huge rear locking and push on the engine, I don't know what his car had," Alonso said.

"Our engine and gearbox are a little bit random so maybe it was for both cars or maybe not but for my car, my case, for sure, I had a lot of rear locking under braking in some corners and the opposite, a lot of push, like half throttle open in some other braking zones - it was not easy to drive the car, it has not been easy the whole weekend.

"And you know, Lance is much more often closer than what it feels and even in front of me more often than what we remember. It was a good run now from 40, 39, or whatever quali[fying] sessions, but in some of the sprints that didn't count - he was in front and he was half and half with Sebastian [Vettel], so Lance is a very fast driver.”

Stroll insisted out-qualifying Alonso meant little to him, having concluded that his qualifying was “not so good”.

Asked if it meant anything to him to outpace Alonso, Stroll responded: "No. I don't care.”

Pressed on whether it would mean more if Aston Martin was fighting at the front of the grid, Stroll snapped: ”I don't know. I don't give a s***.”