After starting from the front row after ten years, Fernando Alonso finished the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday (19) in seventh place, and took 5s for changing direction more than once when defending his position on the track, dropping to ninth
Fernando Alonso promised he would score points again at the Canadian Grand Prix and he delivered, but the Spaniard left the track after Sunday's race regretting an engine failure in his Alpine that prevented him from fighting for a better position than seventh - which then became ninth due to a 5s penalty for changing position more than once when defending position.The French team still fumbled in the race, but the Spaniard left the track after Sunday's race, regretting an engine failure in his Alpine that prevented him from fighting for a better position than seventh - which then became ninth due to a 5s penalty for changing position more than once when defending position. The French team also got in the way of the virtual safety-car to call him into the pits, further complicating Alonso's intentions in Montreal.
The two-time champion, who lined up second next to Max Verstappen, even said he would attack the Dutchman in the first corner, but he opted for a more conservative start, defending himself against Carlos Sainz's attacks and kept his original position.
"We didn't have much luck with the virtual safety-car," Alonso explained. "When we finally decided to go to the pits, it was already a little late, it was exactly at the moment when the safety car came out. So we decided to stay on track," he added, regretting the misfortune. "Ten seconds more and it would have been enough. Whoever came behind was luckier once again," he added.
On lap 20, Alonso began to have a problem with the engine's battery system. "I was failing in the middle of the straights and losing about 0s8 a lap, having to overtake in the corners.
"The very positive point is that the car was very fast, and if it wasn't for the engine problem we would have been third, ahead of Lewis at that point in the race. We were managing the gap to Carlos [Sainz] and Verstappen. So without the engine problem, third or fourth was possible, even with the safety car," he finished.