Untelevised Fernando Alonso moment unearthed after brutal Brazilian Grand Prix

Untelevised footage from the Brazilian Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Fernando Alonso climbed gingerly out of his Aston Martin cockpit at the end of a punishing race at Interlagos.

Having started ninth after a crash in the delayed Sunday morning qualifying session, Alonso endured a challenging race en route to a distant 14th place in Sao Paulo.

Fernando Alonso physical woes uncovered in unseen Brazilian GP footage

With his Aston Martin car struggling with extreme porpoising, Alonso was heard issuing an anguished team radio message to his team in the closing laps.

“I will finish the race for the mechanics,” the two-time World Champion said. “They did a very good job today.

“But my back is hurting, man. This bouncing is not normal.”

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A clip filmed by a fan from the pit and paddock building at Interlagos has revealed how Alonso struggled to haul himself out of his car in parc ferme at the end of the race.

In the clip, Alonso is greeted by two Aston Martin mechanics as he slowly lifts himself up into a standing position.

Alonso is then seen resting on the halo of his car for approximately 15 seconds as one mechanics pats the veteran on the back while comforting him.

At this point, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who retired from the race after 38 laps after a crash, is seen arriving at the scene having returned from the infield section of the circuit.

Sainz stops momentarily and appears to look concerned for his Spanish compatriot before proceeding to the weighing area.

Alonso then hops slowly out of his car and is embraced by the mechanic, who continues to comfort him, before walking away with his head bowed.

Alonso’s physical struggles capped off a dreadful day for Aston Martin, who were forced to revert to a previous specification after both drivers crashed out of qualifying and saw Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll fail to start after an issue on the formation lap.

Speaking to reporters, Alonso described his race as “a nightmare” having struggled with a brake issue as well as his other ailments.

And admitted he “probably would have” withdrawn from the race if his mechanics had not put in so much work to repair his car after qualifying.

He said: “It was a lot of bouncing, a lot of porpoising in the second half of the race. I don’t know why.

“It was a tough race, we were out of the points. I think in any other circumstances, probably I would have stopped.

“But the mechanics did an incredible job before the race to put the car ready on the grid, so I had to finish for them, But it was a difficult race.

“After this morning, we had to go back to a less-performing package on the car, so the race was a little bit of a slower pace from our side.

“Then we had a brake issue – I think Lance had a brake problem in the formation lap – and I had the brake issue after all the restarts, where the brake balance goes completely rearwards. It’s like braking with a handbrake.

“So all in all it was a nightmare out there, but we need to get better for the next three [races].”

Alonso’s physical woes came after he missed his Thursday media duties for the second race in succession, with Aston Martin confirming on the eve of the Brazilian GP weekend that the 43-year-old had briefly returned to Europe for specialist treatment for an “intestinal infection.”

Alonso revealed that he felt compelled to fight through the pain barrier as a tribute to the people affected by flooding in the Spanish city of Valencia.

And he described the Brazilian GP as a “setback” in his recovery from his recent physical issues.

He explained: “It was painful, for sure.

“The lead into this race was a lot of preparation from my side, a lot of checks, a lot of work, a lot of physio, doctors in order to come here to Brazil, so it was a lot of effort from everybody. Same effort as the mechanics [put in] today.

“It was not comfortable in the car, but there are people worse than me.

“Also in Valencia, we have these terrible images and people struggling, so I had to struggle through a couple of laps for everybody.

“All the checks have been done. I check everything the last two or three days. We did a lot of work on my condition.

“I think after this race we we have a setback, for sure, on my body. So for the next four or five days, we have to to reset everything.”

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