Aston Martin's Montreal misery deepens with double stewards investigation

Aston Martin's weekend from hell in Montréal continued just as qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix was about to start, with the team facing a double stewards investigation.

It has already been a torrid season for the Silverstone-based outfit, but since arriving in Montréal, little has gone right.

In sprint qualifying on Friday, Fernando Alonso crashed in the opening 12-minute session. Although the two-time champion set a time good enough to reach SQ2, he was unable to take part due to the damage sustained.

On the grid for the sprint, Lance Stroll was due to start 17th but sustained a suspension issue that forced his car to be wheeled off, requiring a pit lane start. Alonso was then the only driver to retire during the sprint due to a technical issue. Stroll finished 16th of the 21 who completed the race.

Why it matters:

Aston Martin's struggles in Montréal highlight a deeper crisis for a team that finished fifth in the 2025 constructors' championship. With both cars consistently failing to deliver, the team risks falling further behind midfield rivals and losing momentum in development for 2026.

The details:

• Ahead of grand qualifying, two incidents unfolded in seconds. First, Alonso was released into the path of Franco Colapinto's Alpine in the pit lane — an unsafe release that will be investigated after qualifying.
• Separately, the stewards will investigate Aston Martin for releasing Stroll's car in an unsafe condition, as a wheel fairing sprang loose when he entered the pit lane.
• To compound the misery, neither Alonso nor Stroll made it out of Q1. The duo will start 19th and 21st, respectively, for Sunday's race.

What's next:

With both cars starting near the back of the grid and potential penalties looming from the stewards' investigations, Aston Martin faces an uphill battle to salvage any points in Montréal. The team must urgently address reliability and operational issues to avoid a complete write-off of the weekend.