Fernando Alonso to miss Thursday at Suzuka due to family, set to race Friday. Fernando Alonso will arrive in Suzuka on Friday due to family reasons.

There appears to be good news for Fernando Alonso, as Aston Martin has announced that the Spanish driver “will arrive a little later this weekend for family reasons” and will not be present for Thursday’s media day at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Aston Martin further clarified that “everything is fine” and that Alonso “will be at the circuit by Friday.” Nevertheless, he will miss Free Practice 1, where Aston Martin will fulfill its obligation to run a debutant driver by putting Jak Crawford in the AMR26 for the session.

Alonso’s schedule is only affected for Thursday, and he will be able to take part in Free Practice 2 on Friday afternoon without issues, allowing him to prepare optimally for Saturday’s qualifying and, most importantly, Sunday’s race, the third round of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Family comes first: possible birth of Alonso’s child

Although the couple has not made it official, rumors about the pregnancy of Alonso’s partner, journalist Melissa Jiménez, have been circulating for months. This delay in Alonso’s arrival could be connected to the imminent birth of their child.

In recent months, Alonso has spoken on several occasions about his upcoming fatherhood. In an interview with ‘Jugones’ on La Sexta, he discussed the two possible effects that becoming a parent can have on a driver.

“Well, we’ll see. Both theories are possible, right? You can lose a bit in terms of lap times because you know something important is waiting at home, but the opposite can also happen, which is what happens to me. When I think about it, I want to go half a second faster so that someone at home feels proud.”

Pre-season moments hint at a baby

During pre-season testing in Bahrain, when all the drivers were finally together, first Checo Pérez noted that Alonso seems “younger every year,” and then Franco Colapinto asked whether it was “a boy or a girl.” In a clip circulating on social media, Alonso appears to respond, “boy”…

Therefore, without official confirmation, Alonso may already be, or is about to be, one of only three drivers on the 2026 F1 grid who have children: Nico Hülkenberg has a daughter, Sergio Pérez has two daughters and two sons, and Max Verstappen has a daughter.

Fernando Alonso’s delayed arrival at Suzuka adds a heartwarming layer to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. While Jak Crawford gains valuable experience in the AMR26 during FP1, the focus will remain on the Spaniard’s return for the second session. Based on the content of his recent interviews, this personal milestone may provide the “extra half-second” of motivation Alonso needs to challenge at the front in Japan.