Fernando Alonso will sit out FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps this Friday as Jak Crawford takes the wheel of the AMR26 for his third free practice outing of the season. Aston Martin confirmed the move ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, ticking off another mandatory rookie session under F1’s compulsory practice rules. Regulatory housekeeping, yes. But the context around it is considerably more interesting.
Crawford Is Getting Comfortable
His Suzuka debut in Japan was cautious. Crawford ended the session a full second behind Stroll, which is about what you expect from a driver settling into an unfamiliar car on a circuit that does not forgive hesitation. Austria told a different story. The 21-year-old outpaced Alonso by 0.131 seconds and finished two places ahead of the double world champion, both of them buried in 20th and 22nd respectively. At a team currently struggling to trouble the midfield, that is not nothing.
Crawford finished runner-up in the 2025 F2 championship with DAMS Lucas Oil, completed a Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona in June, and drove the team’s 2025 car up the hillclimb at Goodwood. The trajectory is clearly upward, and Aston Martin are investing in him with purpose. What that purpose ultimately leads to remains, for now, unspoken.
The Regulatory Mechanics
F1 teams must field a rookie driver, defined as someone with no more than two Grand Prix starts, in four FP1 sessions per season, two per car. Crawford’s Spa run completes the obligation on Alonso’s side of the garage, meaning the Spaniard will not be displaced from FP1 again in 2026. Stroll, who stood aside in Austria, still has one mandatory handover remaining later in the campaign. Crawford is the obvious candidate to receive those keys again.
It is also worth noting that Belgium has reverted to a standard race weekend format this year after Sprint events in 2023 and 2025. Three full practice sessions are now available, which opens the door for rookie FP1 appearances in a way Sprint weekends simply do not allow.
Spa Before the Storm
The bigger picture here is timing. Aston Martin’s substantial upgrade package, shaped by Adrian Newey, is earmarked for Hungary the following weekend, not Spa. That makes Belgium a holding exercise, a round to survive before the real story begins. Rain is also forecast for Friday, adding an unwelcome layer of complexity for Crawford in a car he barely knows.
Alonso Cannot Wait Forever
At this stage of his career, much like Hamilton at Ferrari, Alonso needs proof rather than promises. The Hungary update is being talked up significantly inside the team. If it does not deliver, Spa will simply be remembered as the weekend the questions about his 2027 future became impossible to ignore.
