Fernando Alonso gets Zandvoort F1 sprint penalty, but Aston confirms key car fix
Fernando Alonso will start the Zandvoort F1 sprint from pitlane
Aston Martin has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will start Saturday’s sprint at the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix from pitlane, but says a crucial car issue has been fixed.
The double world champion finished last in Friday afternoon’s sprint qualifying at Zandvoort, in what was a disappointing debut for Honda’s new power unit.
Ahead of the summer break, Fernando Alonso was able to break into Q2 in Hungary with the older-spec Honda engine in a vastly updated Aston Martin F1 car.
Alonso was around 1.5s from the SQ2 cutoff in 22nd, as he battled an SLM (straightline mode) issue.
Aston says it has made changes to his car overnight and rectified the SLM problem, though this means Alonso will now start the sprint from pitlane.
His Aston team-mate Lance Stroll didn’t do much better in sprint qualifying, with the Canadian getting as high as 19th on the grid.
As well as an SLM problem, Alonso also pointed his finger at Honda’s upgraded power unit for hindering him in qualifying.
However, he was also keen to stress that it was still early days for the new engine.
“Free practice was more or less ok, but in qualifying, we had problems on the engine drivability," Alonso said after sprint qualifying.
“It was pushing under braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was overdelivering.
“Then, apparently, the SLM [straight line mode] didn't work for me, so I could not open the rear wing.
“A combination of both made the laps very tricky.”
"It's still very early days and [the PU] is probably a bit immature with all of the controls.
“It's a sprint weekend. On a normal weekend, we have three practice sessions to nail the package.
“Obviously, on a sprint, we need to deal with the situation in today's qualifying session and in the sprint race. We will try to understand a few things.”
Williams driver Carlos Sainz will also start from pitlane after changes were made to his car in parc ferme conditions.
The Zandvoort sprint is due to begin at 11am BST, while qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix follows at 3pm BST.
