Alonso reaches Q3 in Brazil but rues missed chance

Fernando Alonso qualified ninth at Interlagos, his best qualifying result of 2026 and his first appearance in Q3 this season, after a rain-soaked session. Aston Martin has struggled this year, collecting just seven points across the opening 19 rounds, so the result was a welcome bright spot.

Alonso gambled by switching from full wet tyres to intermediates in Q3, having judged that staying put would likely leave him out of the final segment. The change worked, but he admitted he did not optimise his two timed laps, citing cold tyres on the first and insufficient energy deployment on the second. He said he had hoped his early place in the pitlane queue might let him reach the top five if the rain intensified, but the conditions held steady.

Charles Leclerc's penalty moves Alonso up to eighth on Sunday's grid, and he will look to turn the encouraging Saturday into a points-scoring race.