Fernando Alonso’s Monza woes analyzed by Aston Martin: “Some gravel hit”

Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso retired from the 2025 Italian GP following a suspension failure when he was effectively running in the points. Aston Martin came out after the race at Monza and detailed the reason behind the suspension failure, which led to Alonso's woes.

Coming into the 2025 Italian GP, Aston Martin was expected to be at a disadvantage as the AMR25 is known to carry drag, which isn't helpful around a power circuit like Monza. Nonetheless, Fernando Alonso delivered a stunning performance in qualifying to make the Q3 and start in the Top 10.

The start went well for Alonso, who was glued to Gabriel Bortoleto’s gearbox and ran P8. Both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver made their first and only stop on the same lap as the Spaniard overtook his prodigy in the pit lane.

However, soon after coming out of the pits in what was effectively P7 after the pit stops played out, Fernando Alonso ran a little wide on the corner exits, with the tires running over the kerbs, which led to a front right suspension failure, bringing Alonso’s race to an early end.

F1 Grand Prix of Italy - Source: Getty

Aston Martin recently revealed that Fernando Alonso's F1 car sustained damage on the first lap from the gravel, which structurally damaged the front suspension, and eventually led to a failure when put under load. The team said,

“The team can confirm some gravel hit Fernando's car in the first lap of the race in multiple areas, including his suspension, which compromised it. The team were unaware of the damage sustained. Low-level, continuous loading caused the eventual failure of the part.” (via The Race)

The Spaniard was visibly frustrated after the incident and took to the team radio to express the same, as he said,

“Suspension failure. This is unbelievable.”

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Fernando Alonso is optimistic about Aston Martin’s 2026 season following the recent strides made by the team

Fernando Alonso had a dismal start to the 2025 season, with retirements in the first two races followed by another six races without a single points finish. However, Aston Martin brought upgrades during the European leg of the season, which put Alonso back in the points.

During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Aston Martin did bring upgrades, but the correlation wasn't up to the mark. With the new factory and state-of-the-art wind tunnel fully functional, the correlation is back on track. Detailing the same as a hope for the 2026 car, Alonso said,

“I think to trust the tools that we have in the factory and bring things to the track that actually deliver what was expected from them is obviously a very good thing. We didn’t have that in 2023 and in 2024. So yeah, it’s good to go back to a more normal factory-track kind of correlation and develop the 2026 car next winter knowing that the tools are correct,” (via F1.com)

With Adrian Newey working on the 2026 car, Enrico Cardile and Andy Cowell joining the team, and Honda becoming the exclusive engine partner, Aston Martin can arguably challenge for the title.