Fernando Alonso admitted it was “a shame” to retire so early from the Italian Grand Prix and feels there was the possibility for McLaren F1 Team to score points at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
The Spaniard qualified in thirteenth place and was running well as the weekend went better than the team expected until he was forced to retire from the race.
“This weekend we performed much better than we expected and I think we had the possibility to take some points today, so it’s a shame that we had to retire so early in the race.”
The engine issue this weekend will cost McLaren later in the season says Alonso after the team decided not to take the penalty here due to their better than expected performance.
“Also, we were planning to change the engine at Spa or here and get a penalty at a track we knew was going to be difficult for us in terms of performance, but surprisingly we were good, so we chose not to take it here.
“In the end, we didn’t score any points here so it’s double pain, as we’ll have to take the penalty later in the season.
“The car was misfiring from the start of the race in Turns Seven and Eight, and unfortunately in the end it switched off and I arrived rolling into the pit-lane.”
Italy was his fourth retirement of the season and second in a row and Alonso hopes the car can reach the end in the next few races.
“It’s a true shame. Let’s see if we can make the car more robust for the coming races.”
