Fernando Alonso will start P10 in the F1 US GP after making Q3 for the second consecutive day. A P6 in the Sprint qualifying one was a big surprise, but it was back to a more normal spot on Saturday as Ferrari got their act together, and Kimi Antonelli had a much better session as well.
It was a very smooth session for the two-time F1 World Champion in US GP qualifying. He was 10th in Q1, followed by P9 in Q2. Ultimately his Q3 lap was only for P10, but it was unbelievably close. Had he been half a tenth quicker, it would have been P7 on the grid. His best sectors combined would have put him ahead of Piastri, Bearman and Sainz.
Fernando Alonso feeling comfortable at the F1 US GP
Asked about the differences to Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll who could only qualify P14 for the Sprint and P18 for the main race, the Spanish driver pointed to their different driving styles.
“I feel good, I feel solid performance from the car the whole weekend. Every lap we put there it seems competitive and always in the top six, top seven since FP1.
“Different driving styles for sure for both of us and a little bit better timings for me in qualifying, especially with the traffic yesterday.
“But let’s see tomorrow in the race, obviously I missed this morning so I don’t know exactly what is the race pace.”
Fernando Alonso unsure why Aston Martin are relatively strong at the F1 US GP
On circuits with plenty of high speed corners, such as Spa, Aston Martin have been struggling in 2025. This weekend, though, Alonso has been very strong from the start of it.
He explained that the team expected to be 8th fastest at COTA following analysis ahead of the event.
“I don’t know to be honest, it’s a Sprint weekend so there is a little bit of a mix and some rookies as well that they need to learn the track as well and things.
“I don’t know, in all our metrics we are eighth fastest team and yesterday we were sixth and tenth [today] so happy on that regard, but I don’t think that it’s a particularly good weekend for the Aston.”
Not as happy in the car as he was on Friday
Four places lower than his Sprint Qualifying slot, Fernando Alonso admitted F1 US GP qualifying was trickier. Nonetheless, he still has a shot at points on Sunday.
The biggest concern for the 44-year-old is he has no long run data. He was an unfortunate victim of the absolute mess that took place at turn 1 in the Sprint.
“I felt a little bit worse today compared to yesterday but definitely there is more wind today and different direction. It’s going to change direction again for tomorrow so it’s a little bit of a guess what we will find. I’m not concerned.
“For me the tyre deg will be the biggest concern with this temperature and the full tank for the first time because so far we’ve been always with not full tank in the car, that will be an unknown that is the biggest concern.”
