Alonso admits drivers’ parade was ‘best part' of Barcelona weekend

Fernando Alonso has admitted that “the best part” of his Barcelona weekend did not come on the track. It came well before the lights went out.

As thousands of Spanish fans lined the circuit during the drivers’ parade, the local hero felt the warmth of a home crowd celebrating one of Formula 1’s most enduring figures.

In a weekend that was expected to carry emotional weight – and could prove to be his final appearance at the Circuit de Catalunya – that connection with the fans became the highlight of an otherwise miserable outing.

The Aston Martin driver had hoped to give his supporters something to celebrate. Instead, his home race ended with another harsh reminder of the scale of the challenge facing his team.

After starting from the pit lane following changes to his car, Alonso made little progress before his race unravelled further when his AMR26 stopped on Lap 40 at Turn 9. A suspected battery issue forced him into retirement, adding reliability concerns to the performance struggles that have followed Aston Martin throughout the season.

“The engineer came on the radio saying to stop the car and jump out of the car. So I imagine it was an ERS problem when you have to jump out of the car. And yeah, apparently it's the battery,” Alonso explained after his demise, his fourth this season.

The failure was another setback for a team already searching for answers. Alonso revealed that damaged components would likely require further changes ahead of the next round, potentially creating another difficult weekend.

“I think we changed some of the parts that broke in the race, unfortunately. So, you know, that's maybe another pit lane to start in Austria. But this is what it takes now. We are struggling on performance, but also on reliability, still not bulletproof. So, yeah, we’re still dealing with a lot of issues.”

A weekend saved by the fans

The disappointment on Sunday followed a difficult build-up. Aston Martin entered Barcelona struggling for competitiveness, and Alonso’s qualifying result only highlighted the team’s problems.

The two-time world champion ended the session at the bottom of the order, behind even his own team-mate Lance Stroll. Yet away from the stopwatch, Alonso found a reason to smile.

Asked about the reception from Spanish supporters during the parade, he described it as the defining moment of the weekend.

“It was the best part of the weekend,” he said. “As I knew, I mean, the fans were incredible the whole weekend. That was a very nice feeling, very emotional weekend for me. Maybe the last in Barcelona.

“So, yeah, off the car, I enjoyed every minute. It every minute, but unfortunately, we didn't give to them what they deserve in terms of results. So, hopefully, in the second part of the year, we can improve the situation.”

With Barcelona set to become a rotating fixture on the Formula 1 calendar from 2028, Alonso had already acknowledged before the weekend that this could be his final home race at the circuit.

That possibility made the support from the fans even more significant – and the lack of a competitive result even harder to accept.

Hope built on patience and progress

Despite the frustration, Alonso insisted Aston Martin cannot afford to lose faith. The team’s unexpected point-scoring result in Monaco, achieved amid difficult circumstances, remains evidence that opportunities can still be found if the car is in position to take advantage.

“We need to stay together for sure,” he insisted. “That point in Monaco proves that we are not giving up. Today, even if we were at the back of the grid, we were able to finish the race and take whatever opportunity [that] may come at the end with safety cars or whatever.

“And then we have hopes for the second part of the year, with improvement, that we can be a little bit more competitive. We keep on working. But yeah, we need to see some results as well.”

For Alonso, patience now depends on seeing tangible progress from Aston Martin’s development programme. The team needs upgrades not only to arrive, but to deliver the kind of performance gains that have sometimes proved elusive in recent seasons.

“Eventually, we need to see some of the upgrades to make the car faster. Also the last few years, some of the upgrades didn't make the car really as fast as we wanted. So there are some things to prove with this year's upgrades, and we are all hoping for the best,” concluded.

Barcelona gave Alonso an emotional reminder of why he continues to fight — the unwavering support of the fans who have followed him for decades.

But on the evidence of his home race, Aston Martin still has a long road ahead before it can reward that loyalty with the results Alonso and his supporters crave.

Read also: Alonso's frustrations boil over after poor qualifying: ‘It’s exhausting’

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