Fernando Alonso’s miserable start to the 2025 Formula 1 season continued as he retired from the Monaco Grand Prix.
The two-time champion was forced to pull over his AMR25 on lap 36 with a mechanical fault. Alonso had been on course to score his first points of the season, running in P6.
Aston Martin had found signs of improvement in the last two Grand Prix, using the medium tyre to get both cars into Q3 at Imola. However, Alonso and Lance Stroll were ‘really hurt’ in the race as they committed to the hard tyre, leaving them finishing outside the points.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso reached Q3 again, qualifying in seventh. Staying out of trouble in the race, the 43-year-old looked set to get off the mark in 2025, before pulling his car over at La Rascasse with an engine issue.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
161 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
158 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
136 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
99 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
79 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
63 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 8 |
Alexander Albon |
42 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
20 |
| 10 |
Isack Hadjar |
15 |
The Spaniard remains one of four drivers yet to score a point this season. He has been incredibly unlucky in the last few races, with his Monaco retirement being from no fault of his own.
Aston Martin were set to do a ‘forensic strip-down’ of the engine to find out what caused Alonso’s third DNF of the season. It now appears that the team have uncovered two ‘strange’ problems during their investigation.
Fernando Alonso had two ‘strange’ issues with his car that caused his Monaco retirement
It was reported that Alonso had suffered an ERS problem, which had plagued him for multiple laps. The Spaniard had a loss of 160 horsepower before he was forced to retire.
However, journalist Virutas de Goma has revealed that there was more than one problem with his AMR25. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), he shared that Alonso had two ‘strange’ reasons for his retirement, with a misfiring cylinder and a ‘short circuit’ with a sensor.
“Alonso’s car stopped on Sunday due to not one but two problems. One was a misfiring cylinder. He was running with a bit less power, which is why his pace was worse than he showed at the start of the race,” he wrote.
“The other problem was related to a sensor, which derived in the CDS, or Clutch Drive System. The sensor was associated with the closure of the external connector, the one that the marshals pull when disconnecting the car after an accident.
“Apparently there was a short circuit in the mechanism and the sensor gave a strange alarm, which ended up sending orders (which have not been explained well to me, but which screwed everything up)
“The faults are detected in this shot. Engine power drops abruptly, and the deceleration can even be seen in the hull.”
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F1 fans can’t believe how unlucky Fernando Alonso has been in 2025
Alonso has come tantalisingly close to scoring points in 2025, but has not been able to break into the top 10, despite his best efforts. Finishing 11th three times in the first eight races, the Spaniard referred to himself as the ‘unluckiest driver’ at Imola.
The 43-year-old proved that in Monaco. F1 fans cannot believe how unlucky Alonso is after watching him pull out of the race in heartbreaking circumstances.
Damon Hill said Alonso will use a ‘punch bag’ after the race, having looked on course to record a great haul of points for Aston Martin. Instead, the team return to Silverstone empty-handed as Racing Bulls jump ahead of them in the constructors’ championship.
Aston Martin have shown encouraging signs of improvement at Imola and Monaco, with solid pace in qualifying. But the team must resolve their issues fast if they want to extract the best out of their newfound performance.
