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Alonso Believes Fourth Fastest Time Was Possible

Spanish Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso believes it was possible to set the fourth fastest time in today's qualifying session in Suzuka, with the Spaniard finishing in sixth after Kimi Räikkönen-yellow flag situation made him slow down. When the Lotus spun off at Spoon Curve, the current Drivers Championship leader and a couple of other drivers were forced to back off.

Räikkönen's Q3-incident highlighted the risk in the Spaniards’s strategy of attempting only one flying lap, with the tactic having been used in a bid to save tyres

“What can I say, other than get angry about being unlucky?” the Ferrari driver said. “The yellow flags came at the worst possible moment, when I was going into Spoon. Up until then, my lap was great and there was every chance of setting the fourth fastest time of the day, which would have then seen me start from third on the grid. From there, the race could have taken on a completely different picture, but we have to accept what happened. We were unlucky today, so maybe we’ll be lucky tomorrow!"

“We are up against some very strong opponents, like Red Bull who are in front and there is also McLaren who are behind, so we will have to keep an eye on both sides of the track. I’m expecting a difficult Sunday: the main aim will be to finish, reliability is crucial and bring home a good points haul.”

With six races remaining on this year's calendar, Alonso leads the Drivers Championship, 29 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who took his fourth pole position of the season today in Suzuka.

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2026 F1 Championship Standings (as of March 8)

PDriverTeamPoints
1George RussellMercedes25
2Andrea AntonelliMercedes18
3Charles LeclercFerrari15
4Lewis HamiltonFerrari12
5Lando NorrisMcLaren10
6Max VerstappenRed Bull8
7Oliver BearmanHaas6
8Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls4
9Gabriel BortoletoAudi2
10Pierre GaslyAlpine1
11Esteban OconHaas0
12Alexander AlbonWilliams0
13Liam LawsonRacing Bulls0
14Franco ColapintoAlpine0
15Carlos SainzWilliams0
16Sergio PerezCadillac0
17Lance StrollAston Martin0
18Fernando AlonsoAston Martin0
19Valtteri BottasCadillac0
20Isack HadjarRed Bull0
21Oscar PiastriMcLaren0
22Nico HülkenbergAudi0
PTeamPoints
1Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team43
         Poles: 1       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 1
2Scuderia Ferrari HP27
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
3McLaren Mastercard F1 Team10
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
4Oracle Red Bull Racing8
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
5TGR Haas F1 Team6
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
6Visa Cash App Racing Bulls4
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
7Audi Revolut F1 Team2
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
8BWT Alpine F1 Team1
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
9Atlassian Williams F1 Team0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
10Cadillac F1 Team0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
11Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings (as of March 1)

PRiderTeamPoints
1Pedro AcostaRed Bull KTM32
2Marco BezzecchiAprilia Racing25
3Raul FernandezTrackhouse Racing23
4Jorge MartinAprilia Racing18
5Ai OguraTrackhouse Racing17
6Brad BinderRed Bull KTM13
7Fabio Di GiannantonioPertamina Enduro VR4612
8Marc MarquezDucati Lenovo9
9Francesco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo8
10Franco MorbidelliPertamina Enduro VR468
11Luca MariniHonda HRC Castrol6
12Johann ZarcoCastrol Honda LCR5
13Enea BastianiniKTM Tech34
14Diogo MoreiraPro Honda LCR3
15Joan MirHonda HRC Castrol3
16Fabio QuartararoMonster Energy Yamaha2
17Alex RinsMonster Energy Yamaha1
18Maverick ViñalesKTM Tech30
19Toprak RazgatlıoğluPramac Racing0
20Jack MillerPramac Racing0
21Alex MarquezGresini Racing0
22Michele PirroGresini Racing0
PTeamPoints
1Red Bull KTM Factory Racing45
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 1       GP wins: 0
2Aprilia Racing43
         Poles: 1       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 1
3Trackhouse MotoGP Team40
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
4Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team20
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
5Ducati Lenovo Team17
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
6Honda HRC Castrol9
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
7Honda LCR MotoGP8
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
8Red Bull KTM Tech34
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
9Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP3
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
10Prima Pramac Racing0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
11BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0