Aston Martin’s disastrous weekend in Canada took a new turn even before the start of qualifying, with two investigations opened against the British team.
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Nothing has worked for Aston Martin since the start of the Montreal weekend. Already struggling greatly since the start of the 2026 season, the British team is probably going through its most difficult moment of the year at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit.
The problems began as early as the sprint qualifying on Friday when Fernando Alonso crashed into the wall during SQ1. Despite a time good enough to advance to SQ2, the damage to his Aston Martin prevented the Spaniard from returning to the track.
On the side of Lance Stroll, things did not go any better. The Canadian was initially supposed to start from 17th position for the sprint, before a suspension problem was detected on his car a few minutes before the start. Result: start from the pit lane.
The sprint race itself extended this black scenario for Aston Martin. Alonso was the only driver forced to retire due to a technical issue, while Stroll could do no better than a modest 16th place.
Two new cases before qualifying
While the team hoped to finally have a calmer session before the Grand Prix qualifying, two new incidents worsened the situation in just a few seconds.
The first concerns Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was reportedly released dangerously into the pit lane, directly into the path of Franco Colapinto. The stewards immediately announced the opening of an investigation for unsafe release after the session.
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A few moments later, Aston Martin found itself at the center of a second investigation involving this time Lance Stroll.
A part located near one of the wheels of the Canadian’s Aston Martin came off as he was joining the pit lane. The stewards now want to determine if the team sent the car out on track in a condition deemed dangerous.
Catastrophic qualifying for Alonso and Stroll
As if that were not enough, Aston Martin also experienced a huge sporting disappointment during qualifying.
Neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll managed to get out of Q1. The Spaniard will start from 19th position, while his Canadian teammate will start at the very back of the grid in 21st place.
This new poor performance confirms the huge difficulties faced by the team this season. Between reliability issues, lack of performance, and now the stewards’ investigations, the Canadian weekend increasingly looks like a real nightmare for Aston Martin.
And at this stage, the team mainly seems to hope to reach the finish on Sunday without experiencing another setback.
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