Fernando Alonso to Start Pit Lane, F1 Calendar 2026 Grid Shifts

Fernando Alonso will start the f1 calendar 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix from the pit lane after Aston Martin changed power unit components in the back of his AMR26. He had qualified 22nd and last for his home race, and the rest of the grid stayed unchanged from qualifying while the order remains provisional until the FIA publishes it.

Alonso’s AMR26 changes

Aston Martin fitted a fourth MGU-K, energy store and control electronics to Alonso’s car before the start. Those parts sit under a season limit of three apiece, so the swap pushes his machine beyond the standard allocation and forces the pit-lane start.

The move also ends Alonso’s 42-round run without being outqualified by Lance Stroll in a grand prix grid-setting session. That stretch dated back to the British Grand Prix in 2024, when Stroll last beat him on Saturday.

Barcelona-Catalunya grid order

For the rest of the field, qualifying still stands. No other grid changes were listed, so the starting order around Alonso stays as it was after the session.

The only immediate adjustment is his lane to the race start, not the positions around him. That leaves the home crowd watching one Aston Martin drop off the grid while the other parts of the order remain intact.

FIA provisional status

The grid is not yet final. It remains provisional until the FIA makes the official announcement, and Alonso’s pit-lane start is the central change that reshapes the front end of his home race day.

He goes into the race from the back of the lane after qualifying last, with the mechanical change now carrying the penalty and the starting sheet still awaiting the final sign-off.