Fernando Alonso has revealed that he competed in the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix with an injury to his neck, sustained prior to the event.
The Spaniard had a difficult weekend, suffering his second DNF in two races, after his brakes caught fire early in the Grand Prix.
Alonso had finished 10th in the Sprint Race on Saturday, one place behind Lance Stroll, who went on to score his second points-scoring finish in succession, inheriting ninth after both Ferraris and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine were disqualified from the final result.
Speaking to Spanish media after the race, Alonso revealed the discomfort he had been in over the race weekend, after it had been observed he was wearing protective tape on his neck.
“I’m OK,” he said. “I was wearing some neck protection because I’ve had a pinched nerve or something these past few days.
“But in the end, it didn’t help much because I didn’t do many laps.”
Alonso is no stranger to racing through pain, having returned to the cockpit shortly after breaking his ribs in an horrifying accident at the Australian Grand Prix in 2016, whilst driving for McLaren.
He also partook in pre-season testing ahead of the 2021 season for Alpine shortly after fracturing his jaw in a cycling accident.
Alonso eager to ‘turn things around’ in Japanese GP
Fernando Alonso went on to explain in further detail about the brake issues that curtailed his race, and spoke of his hope that the team will be able to rectify the AMR25’s issues and kickstart his championship at Suzuka on April 6.
We had a brake issue,” he said. “The rear brakes were very hot from the first lap and on the last one before retiring, I hit the brakes into Turn 1 and the pedal went all the way down with no braking power.
“Luckily it’s a long corner and you slow down gradually with gears and engine braking.
“If it had happened in the Turn 14 braking zone, I would have taken out five or six cars. In a way, we were lucky not to have an accident.
“Now we need to understand what happened and next is a triple-header. Hopefully, I can see the chequered flag for the first time this year and we can turn things around in Japan.”
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