Alonso’s problems started when he ran wide onto the gravel at the final corner as he started his first lap in Q1 in Barcelona.
He recovered to get out of that session in 12th and then took eighth in Q2. With the car in a better state for Q3, Alonso believed he could still have made the front row, but a mistake on his final lap consigned him to ninth.
The team managed to gradually repair the floor during the gaps between sessions, but Alonso faced the additional challenge of not knowing quite how the car would behave each time he went out.
He has subse …