Fernando Alonso set to start the 2024 F1 Imola GP from the pitlane

Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso will start the Imola Grand Prix from the pit lane after finishing P19 in the qualifying session on Saturday (May 18). It has been a rough weekend for the Spanish driver as he has not been able to get the maximum out of the AMR24 despite the team having had upgrades for this weekend.

The two-time world champion even crashed in the FP3 session, which caused a lot of damage to the rear end of the car and made it very difficult for the team to fix before the qualifying session.

After failing to get out of the Q1 session for the first time this season, Alonso and the Silverstone-based team made the call to start the race from the pitlane. The Aston Martin F1 team confirmed the news on their social media:

"The team can confirm that Fernando will start today's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from the pit lane following some set-up changes to his #AMR24."

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Fernando Alonso hinted about the same after qualifying:

"If we start from the pit, there are also some benefits as well. We saw the crash in F2 at the start as well. We need to avoid those kinds of things for the quantity of parts that we have on Formula 1 teams. So yeah, it could be an option."

Fernando Alonso analyzes his horrible Imola Grand Prix qualifying

Fernando Alonso stated that it was 'one of those days' for him and the team as nothing worked for him on Saturday at the Imola Grand Prix.

As per F1.com, the 42-year-old spoke about his heavy crash in FP3 and thanked the team for repairing the AMR24 before the qualifying session. He said:

“It was one of those days where everything went a bit wrong for us. It started with the heavy crash in FP3 and the mechanics did a great job in getting the car ready for Q1. We headed out for Qualifying a few minutes into the session and fueled to do all of Q1.

"The best lap I managed was when the car was heavier with fuel and then we had to box for an issue at the end of the session just before my final attempt. The car felt quite good in Qualifying and I think there was some more pace in hand, so it was a shame we couldn’t improve my lap time."

Starting from the pitlane, Fernando Alonso would hope to make quick work of the cars in front of him and get into point-scoring positions as quickly as possible, so that he can salvage his weekend. He would also hope for a lucky safety car that could greatly benefit him in his progression up the field.