F1 News
Only 19 cars on grid for Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola
- Ludo van Denderen
Qualifying in P19 on Saturday was not great. That is probably why Aston Martin decided to make adjustments to Fernando Alonso's car, forcing him to start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from the pit lane. As a result, there will be not 20, but 19 F1 cars on the grid later this Sunday.
Alonso had a terrible Saturday in Imola. In FP3, the Spaniard made a rare mistake that sent him into the wall. His damaged Aston Martin could be patched up in time for Alonso to take part in qualifying. However, he could no longer have all the correctly introduced updates, as not all of them had spare parts. Without these updates, qualifying did not go according to plan.
A nineteenth place is not where the two-time world champion normally belongs. In the hours after the session, the mechanics therefore went to work, improving the set-up of the car. This is not officially allowed under the Parc Fermé rules, and Alonso is thus forced to start the Grand Prix from the pit lane. 