Alonso welcomes Aston Martin’s first Q3 of 2026, sees points chance if rain persists

Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin reached Q3 for the first time in 2026 at São Paulo. Alonso qualified ninth in Saturday’s rain-affected session and is set to start eighth after Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty. He said reaching Q3 felt good and described it as his best Saturday of the season.

Heavy rain initially delayed qualifying. After it resumed, Alonso finished eighth in Q1, seventh in Q2 and ninth in Q3; the best conditions came at the start of the final segment. He described the conditions as tricky and unfamiliar, especially with this year’s car, and said there had been little practice on wet tyres. Alonso also called the session somewhat experimental.

Aston Martin have endured a difficult season under the 2026 regulations, and Alonso has scored the team’s only points so far, with top-10 finishes in Monaco, the Netherlands and Malaysia. He said Aston Martin might have a chance to score points if Sunday’s 71-lap race stayed wet throughout. Otherwise, he expected the team to return to its “natural position”; dry FP3, he added, had been a little disappointing.