Fernando Alonso said he and the team were aware that his car wouldn’t complete more than a lap of the Mexican Grand Prix, as a fatal engine problem was spotted prior to the start of the race.
The Spaniard, who started 18th, retired on the second lap of the race after reporting a loss of power over the radio.
Despite knowing about the problem, Alonso said he wanted to respect the Mexican fans by at least taking to the grid.
“Yesterday night we spotted some MGU-H rotation speed problems and then this morning we confirmed it,” he said. “There was no time to replace it anymore so the possibilities were not to start the race or try to do as much as we could knowing that maybe one lap was the maximum.
“I think out of respect for the fans we tried to race and the first lap at least was enjoyable, the first three corners.”
When asked if he expected to retire, he replied: “We knew, not expecting, we knew.
“I think I showed enough respect for the fans because I really wanted to go to the grid, do the start and then we’d see what happened. We confirmed our pessimistic thoughts but at least we tried and it’s always better to try.”
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