F1 Canadian Grand Prix: FIA hit Aston Martin with double fine as Adrian Newey misery deepens

Canadian Grand Prix

FIA hit Aston Martin with double F1 fine as Adrian Newey misery deepens at Canadian Grand Prix

It's turning into another grim weekend for the team in green

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 24 May 2026 20:55

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Just when F1's crisis team Aston Martin think things can't get any worse, they do. Welcome to the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix.

While the struggling team in green has apparently now fixed those horrible vibrations in the much-maligned Honda power unit, things are still going wrong on a regular basis for the expensively-assembled squad.

Aston Martin had an inauspicious start to their big weekend in Montreal on Friday when the great Fernando Alonso locked up and crashed into the wall during Sprint Qualifying.

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Then on Saturday the team was hit with not one but two fines after a wild day at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

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Aston Martin hit with two fines at Canadian Grand Prix

The first infraction for Aston Martin came at the start of qualifying when the team released Alonso into the path of the oncoming Alpine of Franco Colapinto.

That cost the team a cool 5000 Euros for an unsafe release with the official stewards' verdict detailing: "The Stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed position video and in-car video evidence.

"It was apparent that Car 43 had to swerve and locked the front wheels to avoid a collision with Car 14. This was determined by the Stewards to be an unsafe release."

If that wasn't enough, shortly afterwards we had insult being added to injury with Aston Martin now being fined a further 7500 Euros for releasing hometown hero Lance Stroll with wheel covers still fitted on his car.

The official verdict on that one explained: "The Stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence. On its way down the pit lane at the start of the session, Car 18 lost an outer wheel trim. Then, on its first lap, the inner wheel cover also dislodged. This particular part, although made from carbon fibre, is still potentially dangerous if it hit another car or a person.

"The driver was not aware of the situation and the team admitted that part of its inspection process had overlooked the correct fixation of the securing devices for these pieces. The team undertook to thoroughly review its inspection process. The penalty is higher than for an unsafe release due to the fact that the car was on the track when the second piece dislodged."

Is there any hope for Aston Martin?

Despite those fines, there have been the smallest of glimmers of promise this weekend for Aston Martin. Notably Alonso tracking in P14 before that crash in Sprint Qualifying on Friday.

Saturday's Qualifying session was more like business as usual so far in 2026, with Alonso qualifying for today's race in P19 and Stroll in P21. The action at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve gets under way at 1600 local time (2100 UK, 2200 CET).

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Canadian GP times and grid positions

F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll Canadian Grand Prix