Abu Dhabi GP 2025: Fernando Alonso thrilled with brave setup gamble that avoided qualifying disaster. Fernando Alonso stunned in Abu Dhabi GP qualifying with a sixth-place grid slot for Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso produced a surprise in the front rows of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing an unexpected sixth place on the grid after a challenging Friday. The two-time world champion credited this result to some daring setup changes introduced by the Aston Martin team, which made the AMR25 more manageable and allowed him to avoid mistakes that could have affected the championship battle.

Alonso himself admitted he had doubts about the competitiveness of the Aston Martin at Yas Marina, a circuit demanding both high cornering downforce and efficient straight-line speed. In previous races, this mix of characteristics had posed problems for the team, leaving Alonso concerned. Yet, the final qualifying times tell a different story, with the Spanish driver clinching a valuable sixth place thanks to adjustments he described as almost experimental, made after a lackluster Friday performance.

Interestingly, the Silverstone team did not opt for an extremely low-downforce setup, managing to defend well on the straights. The main difficulties emerged in the slow corners, where the AMR25 had shown consistent understeer issues throughout the season. In such a tight qualifying session, even a few hundredths of a second proved decisive.

Alonso edged out Gabriel Bortoleto by just two thousandths of a second, while the gap to Esteban Ocon in eighth extended to only 11 thousandths. Three drivers were separated by an almost imperceptible margin, highlighting how minor details can be crucial. Alonso’s sixth place was further aided by Yuki Tsunoda’s lap time being deleted for track limits, a time that would have otherwise placed the Japanese driver on the third row.

Alonso reflected on his performance, saying he was very happy and admitted it was somewhat unexpected. He explained that the team had concerns about Yas Marina’s layout, as slow corners had been a consistent weakness all season. On Friday, the car suffered from significant understeer and struggled through the slower sections.

To address this, Aston Martin made substantial setup changes overnight to reduce the understeer issues, similar to what had affected Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Alonso described the approach as brave, experimenting with setups that had not been used previously in 2025. The adjustments resulted in a major performance improvement, making the car more competitive than anticipated for qualifying.

“We changed the setup overnight and took some bold steps with experiments between last night and this morning. The car felt good, so we kept that setup for qualifying, and honestly it was more competitive than expected. I’m happy for the team,” Alonso said.

These overnight changes not only improved Alonso’s qualifying pace but could also play a key role in the race. Yas Marina is known for its low grip levels, the lowest on the calendar according to Pirelli, which challenges teams relying on mechanical grip from the tires. Alonso noted that the car is now much more manageable through the corners, reducing the risk of hitting the walls.

Without lofty expectations, Alonso is focused on enjoying the race and avoiding trouble, while staying ready to respond if caught in strategic scenarios involving championship contenders. When told that Max Verstappen might slow the pace to pressure Lando Norris, Alonso laughed and admitted he hadn’t considered it but would factor it into his strategy.

“It’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about it. Now I have something to work on tonight. Even if he slows down, it might not be enough for us to catch up. He’d have to slow a lot. But yes, we’ll try to do our own race. Our focus is on Haas and Sauber for the Constructors’ Championship. We have no other incentives, and we’ll try to control what we can,” Alonso explained.

Thanks to the large screens around Yas Marina, Alonso will be able to follow the championship action without becoming directly involved. He hopes to stay out of the main battle: “I hope to stay as far away as possible from the fight. Well, not too far, because I still want to score points! But yes, I don’t want to be in Monday’s headlines.”