Fernando Alonso has explained the reason that caused his shock DNF in Formula 1‘s Italian Grand Prix, which he said was a “one in 10 million case”.
The Spaniard was on course for a points finish at Monza, vital in Aston Martin’s bid to scale the Constructors’ table amid its battle in the F1 midfield.
But Alonso was forced to retire the car on Lap 24 due to a rear suspension failure, after taking on much of the kerb upon exiting the Ascari chicane.
This led to suspicion that was what caused the failure, but the Silverstone-based squad revealed it was due to gravel flicking up into the chassis on Lap 1.
Ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Alonso revealed his incredulity at the unlikely method of the cause of his retirement.
“They told me on Monday or Tuesday after the race, and I know it was not for the kerb, so it was a suspension failure,” he said.
“The cause of it was not a production thing or quality control; it was just bad luck as the stone hit a physical part of the car, which was not strong enough, but there is nothing we can do now, and unfortunately, it was more bad luck.
“It is [a part of the car] which is always going to be exposed, and some external objects come to the car, but I think it is a one in 10 million case, so I hope another 10 million races, I will not have another failure like that.”
Alonso asks for some ‘normal luck’ in F1
Alonso was left to rue his bad luck, as it condemned the team to a pointless weekend, with Lance Stroll finishing well out of the top 10, as midfield rivals Williams and Racing Bulls secured more points.
“These things can happen, and I remember in 2022 with Alpine, the car was not bad, and I had 12 DNFs and was P5, P6, so we lost like 55-60 points, and this year, we are up to 22, I think,” he added.
“So it is a shame we cannot finish races on merit when we are in the points and then we are slow, normally things are always smooth and nice until the chequered flag, we score no points.
“But this is the way it is, and this is the nature of the sport, and as long as next year, we have a good car, we’ll have normal luck. We don’t ask for good luck, but normal luck is OK.”
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