Fernando Alonso was left to lament “pure bad luck” at Imola as unfortunate circumstances conspired with Aston Martin’s strategy calls to deconstruct a race that initially offered the promise of a breakthrough for the Spaniard and his team.
The two-time World Champion started the race in a strong fifth position after the team’s recent upgrades and a bold tyre-saving strategy played out well in Saturday’s qualifying.
But what could have been a much-needed result turned into a nightmare as ill-timed Safety Cars dropped him out of the points, finishing 11th.
From the start, Alonso looked racy, holding position and showing strong pace behind George Russell and the McLarens. Aston Martin’s upgrade package, finally delivering some solid performance, had seemingly given the team a competitive edge they had lacked all season.
From Strong Start to Strategic Spiral
But the tide turned quickly for the F1 veteran, as it did for his teammate Lance Stroll, blowing into oblivion the prospect of a double points finish for Team Silverstsone.
Aston Martin’s early pit strategy left both drivers – who had pitted on lap 13 and 14 respectively – vulnerable when a Virtual Safety Car triggered shortly after allowed rivals to pit with minimal time loss.
Suddenly, the Spaniard found himself stuck in traffic and out of contention, his frustration boiling over in a censored radio message to his team.
“It’s gonna be torture… I’m the unluckiest driver in the fu**ing world!”
But on lap 46 of 63, another crushing blow was dealt to the F1 veteran when a full Safety Car neutralization handed the rest of the field another free pit stop — and with Aston already having burned through their usable tyres, there was no comeback strategy left to execute.
After the race, the 42-year-old was more composed but clearly still frustrated.
“It was just unlucky," Alonso said. "The car was super today, we followed the McLaren and [George] Russell at the beginning of the race, which was definitely a good surprise for us to be that competitive at the front of the field.”
Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2025 Emilia Romagna GP“And then I think we were okay to secure P6, P7 with both the cars and then the Virtual Safety Car gave the opportunity to everyone to stop and exit in front of us and our race was over.
“So extremely unlucky, the car was competitive, I had a good fight.”
A Glimmer Amid the Gloom
Despite the setbacks, Alonso’s pace late in the race offered a silver lining. On worn medium tires, he clawed his way from 14th to 11th, overtaking three or four cars in the final nine laps – a feat he acknowledged with a mix of pride and exasperation.
“Even at the end I overtook three or four cars in nine laps. It’s something we are not used to this year, so definitely a step forward,” he said.
That final surge underlined the improved pace from the AMR25, giving some glimmers of hope even as the result stung.
Yet, with Stroll down in 15th and unable to make similar progress, questions lingered about the full effectiveness of the upgrade package.
“We’ll see next week at a different kind of track, so we’ll see if we can continue the form,” Alonso concluded, tempering expectations with a cautious outlook.
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