Fernando Alonso now ‘minus 60 points’ due to Alpine mechanical issues

Henry Valantine
Fernando Alonso after retiring. Singapore October 2022.

Alpine driver Fernando Alonso with his head in his hands after retiring. Singapore October 2022.

Fernando Alonso believes he has lost 60 points through mechanical and reliability problems this season after retiring from the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alonso qualified in the top five at Marina Bay, continuing in that area of the field through the race and keeping a charging Max Verstappen at bay in the process.

But he made a sudden exit from the race on lap 22 when his engine cut out, leaving the Alpine driver forlorn on the sidelines after making a promising start to the race.

Both Alpine drivers faced troubles, with Esteban Ocon also retiring with an apparent engine issue – leaving the team without points on a weekend when McLaren took full advantage of their issues.

A 4-5 finish for Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo saw McLaren leapfrog Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship in the race for fourth place.

It will have been doubly disappointing for the two-time former World Champion, who feels he should be much higher in the standings based on his performances this year.

“Not happy, for sure a little bit disappointed,” Alonso said to Formula 1’s official website after retiring.

“Once more, I think I was minus 50 points already this year with the mechanical issues.

“So we add another 10, so I’m minus 60. And if you add 60 points to my standings, I think we were in another league.

“So I’m very proud of the performance again this weekend. One of my best levels, but yet we cannot finish the races when we are in the points. Nothing we can do now, but disappointed.”

He added when asked about how his retirement had come about: “No warning at all. Something happened, the noise was quite ugly. So I guess it’s something on the engine.”

Fernando Alonso should take heart from record-breaking appearance

Alonso’s pace in qualifying and his continued guile in race conditions showed he was more than worthy of racing in the top five in Singapore before the unlucky turn of his engine failure came.

The wider implications of the Constructors’ Championship may not faze him as much as if he was staying with Alpine for next season, but after becoming the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history he has shown again that when he is in play he is still a fighting force.

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Alpine Fernando Alonso

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