Fernando Alonso admitted to being sad and emotional following his early retirement from the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, which came as a result of debris from Esteban Ocon’s car getting lodged in his car through the opening sequence of turns on lap one.
The front wing of Ocon’s Racing Point Force India F1 Team car broke following contact with Carlos Sainz Jr. ahead of him at turn three of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the debris running across the track and into the patch Alonso’s McLaren F1 Team MCL33.
Unable to avoid the debris, the MCL33 developed a water leak that turned into a pressure drop, which forced an end to his afternoon just two laps later.
Alonso had wanted to finish his final race in Mexico City ahead of his departure from Formula 1 at the end of the season, with the Spaniard hoping for more luck in the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
“I didn’t feel anything wrong with the car, but apparently some debris from [Esteban] Ocon’s car that was flying around hit our car in the wrong place and probably caused my DNF, which is one in a million case,” said Alonso.
“I’m sad now, because I wanted to stay in the race, but in a couple of hours’ time I’ll only have good memories of this Sunday, because it has been quite emotional with a lot of support from such great Mexican fans.
“I’ve been unlucky today, and it’s okay as long as it’s not your mistake, in which case you take more time to get over it. These things happen, so let’s see if in the two last races we can have a bit more luck and see the chequered flag.”
