Fernando Alonso says McLaren’s reliability has regressed through 2018 after he was forced out of Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix during the opening stages.
Alonso managed just nine laps, having crept into the top 10, before a suspected electrical problem slowed his MCL33, and he returned to the pits to retire.
It marked the sixth time in just nine Grands Prix that Alonso failed to reach the chequered flag, with five of those down to mechanical issues.
“It is a shame because sometimes we were in the points like here,” he said.
“The reliability of the team seems to make a step backwards. We definitely need to improve that for the remaining races
“Very early I started to feel some misfire on the engine, something was happening in Turns 7 and 8. And then we tried to solve it but it was not possible.
The car switched off, and I came rolling to the pit lane. Quite unlucky the last two grands prix, especially even more today as we were in the points.”
Alonso had previously described his Belgium exit as a “double zero” on account of failing to profit at an event where some rivals took an engine change.
Having not taken on new components in either Belgium or Italy, Alonso is now likely to face an engine-related sanction at one of the upcoming Grands Prix.
“It was unlucky again. Spa was the first corner. Here again, in the first couple of laps, a mechanical issue and we lost maybe the possibility of taking points.
“And also we decided to not change the engine and get a penalty in these races just hoping for points.
“And now later on in the season, we will have to change the engine and start last. So it is a double pain.
“Hopefully we won’t take the penalty in Singapore, because there if you start last you finish last, so there we have to extract everything we’ve got from the car.”
