Fernando Alonso believes Alpine can still salvage something from their weekend after a tough Sprint result that saw both their cars drop down the field and out of the points.

The Spaniard and team-mate Esteban Ocon clashed on more than one occasion at the start of the Sprint yesterday, and it would eventually mean both would drop down the order and out of the points-paying positions.

Shooting themselves in the foot was the phrase that quickly sprung to mind as, not for the first time this year, the two team-mates in blue showed very little leeway when driving next to one another.

Team principal Otmar Szafnauer was certainly unimpressed with his two drivers' antics and now the rescue job needs to be carried out today by the pair of them at Interlagos.

Speaking after the session, Fernando Alonso said that something positive can still be taken from this weekend, though obviously the task is far harder than it needed to be:

“It was not the Sprint Qualifying we wanted. Unfortunately, I touched with Esteban on the first lap of the race and we lost the momentum from there. With the deficit lost in the pit-stop, the Sprint is too short to recover places.

Fernando Alonso drives in Brazil

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 12: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Alpine F1 A522 Renault on track during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“On the positives, the car is very fast, and we have good race pace, so all is not lost this weekend just yet.

“We both tried to do our best and unfortunately it didn’t work out. We will think about it [for the race] and try to score points for the team.”


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