Alonso to miss first practice at Spa

A striking announcement has arrived from Aston Martin as Formula 1 heads into Belgian Grand Prix week. The British team officially confirmed that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will not take part in the first practice session (FP1) at Spa-Francorchamps. The Spaniard's car will be driven in that session by the team's reserve driver Jak Crawford, with Alonso returning to the cockpit for Friday's second practice.

Behind the move lies a sporting obligation. Formula 1 regulations require all teams to run rookie drivers at least twice per season in each of their cars, and Aston Martin have chosen to use this session to help fill their rookie quota. Crawford, who finished runner-up in last year's Formula 2 championship and was announced as the team's official reserve driver at the end of the season, will take on his third practice outing of the campaign; the young American will shoulder the task of helping to get the troublesome AMR26 into the right performance window for the rest of the weekend.

The timing, meanwhile, coincides with a delicate period on Alonso's side. At an Aston Martin outfit wrestling with reliability and performance problems, the 44-year-old has collected just one point across nine race weekends. Never outqualified by teammate Lance Stroll across the entirety of last season, Alonso has recently finished behind the Canadian in qualifying twice. The decision on whether to extend his contract, which expires at the end of the season, also sits before the Spaniard.

Alonso's criticism of the new generation of cars ahead of Spa also remains on the agenda; the veteran noted that the circuit's nature could see battery power run out early, remarking that "when the deployment is gone, these cars are less powerful than F2". The upgrades the team will bring in the coming races will shape the fate of both Alonso's and Aston Martin's season.

Image: Autosport