Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso said there was a “mountain of gravel” next to the newly-added trap at T6 for his rare crash at the Australian Grand Prix.

This observation to Spanish TV adds more weight to the leading fan theory on social media claimed that Pierre Gasly’s Alpine triggered the accident by scattering gravel over the track.

Fernando Alonso pins blame on ‘mountain of gravel’ after crash

Additional reporting by Pablo Hidalgo 

Alonso crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on Lap 34, losing control of his AMR25 on the exit of Turn 6 and hitting the barrier hard.

It marked a disappointing start to the season for the two-time World Champion, whose Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll finished an impressive sixth at Albert Park.

Alonso was running directly behind Gasly at the time of the incident, with a clip circulating widely on social media appearing to show Gasly’s car kicking up gravel as he navigated Turn 6, moments before Alonso lost control and spun.

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Speaking to DAZN Spain after the race, Alonso insisted that he placed his car “where I always do” at Turn 6 and claimed that the “mountain of gravel” deposited at the corner caused his spin.

He said: “It’s one of those races that you don’t really enjoy behind the wheel. The white lines are like ice, the visibility is very low.

“But it’s the same for everyone. You try to do better and get some points, take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

“There’s one lane with the dry line and another wet lane outside it and you can’t overtake the cars in front either because you have to get into the water if you want to overtake. Difficult.

‘The accident I haven’t understood yet either. I didn’t touch the gravel, I passed where I always do.

“But I found a mountain of gravel right where I put the tyre and I lost the car. A very costly mistake – or incident – for the team unfortunately.”

Alonso produced one of the most impressive ‘saves’ in recent history at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix after dipping a wheel into the strip of gravel located on the outside of the final corner.

Ahead of his return to Shanghai this weekend, the 43-year-old quipped that the Chinese GP circuit lacks a “ghost” hanging over the drivers like the gravel trap at Melbourne’s Turn 6.

He added: “I love China. It’s a track we’ve always been good at.

“And we don’t have the gravel that we have here at Turn 6!

“I think it’s been a ghost we’ve always had hanging over us every time we go through that point of the circuit and it’s played a trick on me again in the race.”

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Andy Cowell, the Aston Martin team principal, backed Alonso’s suggestion that his accident may have been triggered by gravel on the track.

Yet he stressed the need for the to understand more about the AMR25’s characteristics after the car “reacted” to the gravel.

He told media in Melbourne: “We don’t know whether there was a bit of gravel buildup from other people kicking gravel off.

“But the car reacted in Turn 6 and the crash was the result of that.

“It’s just that we need to understand a little bit more about car characteristics and how do we improve them, but it’s incredibly hard with the aero characteristics of the cars where you want to run them low to get downforce, but you want them to have a broad drivable characteristic as well.

“These sort of conditions amplify that a bit.”

Turn 6 at Albert Park was altered for the 2025 race after George Russell’s major accident at the end of the 2024 race, for which Alonso was penalised for what the FIA stewards’ verdict described as “potentially dangerous driving.”

Asked if he would welcome further changes for 2026 to prevent gravel entering the track, Cowell replied: “I guess we go round in a loop, don’t we, on how to make sure that we race on the racetrack.

“Gravel is one of the options, but it comes with downsides, different kerb types, and so on. We’ve tried a wide variety of things.

“I don’t really want to comment too much on circuit design, just focus on making a fast race car that stays on the track.”

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