F1 team might miss the Monaco Grand Prix after driver shares a worrying update
Formula 1 fans of all ages are excited about the Monaco Grand Prix, but one driver has raised concerns about his team’s chances. Fernando Alonso has said that Aston Martin’s gearbox problems are causing extra worries for the team, adding to their frustration over the engine’s performance.
In 2025, Aston Martin finished seventh in the championship, but this year they’re tied with Cadillac at the bottom of the standings and haven’t scored any points yet. Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll have had a tough season, with both only managing 15th place as their best results in the first five races.
At the media event in Monte Carlo, where this famous race will take place, Alonso shared what’s worrying him most right now. “We’ve had gearbox trouble since Miami,” he said, according to GP Fans. “Monaco is not a place where you want a random downshift, because it can cause the brakes or engine to act strangely. That could lead to crashing into the wall, and make the driver look bad.”
He hopes the team can fix this soon. “We need to improve by Canada, but Monaco will really show the truth.”
Aston Martin’s best finishes were in the last two races, but Monaco is a tough track where technical issues can cause big problems. Alonso added, “If we have the same downshift problem as in Miami, we might not even finish the race because it could cause a crash when braking. And if our reliability issues from earlier in the year continue, where we only managed about eight to twelve laps, it won’t get any easier in Monaco. We have to fix everything.”
In other news, young driver Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ standings by 43 points over Mercedes’ George Russell. Antonelli has won the last four races, only finishing behind Russell in the other one. This has given Mercedes a big lead in the constructors’ championship, with 72 points ahead of Ferrari. Mercedes earned 219 points from the five races, while Aston Martin didn’t score any.
There’s some hope for Ferrari in Monaco, though, since Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc set the fastest times in both practice sessions.