Another day, another retirement.

And while McLaren team boss Eric Boullier, took the emotive route, describing Honda's latest failure as "gut-wrenching" and "simply, and absolutely, not good enough", Fernando Alonso took a more pragmatic approach questioning the risk of a car that is as much as 16 mph down on its rivals.

Despite the Spaniard's best efforts, his heroics in battling to pass cars and also hanging on to the exhaust pipes of those that had passed him, his efforts in Canada came to nought, the two-time world champion suffering another engine failure just three laps from what looked set to be his (and McLaren's) first points finish of the season.

"The race itself was already hard enough given the lack of power," said the Spaniard after the race. "They were passing us in the middle of the straights and sometimes it was even dangerous with such a speed difference.

"It is not only that we lost a point today and we lost another race," he continued, "we will start last in Baku because Jenson changed the power unit in Monaco and started last. Here we lost a power unit and in Baku we will start last again. The situation is definitely not nice."

Despite the continued trials and tribulations however, Alonso who has won over a whole new legion of fans with his Indy 500 exploits, further endeared himself to the public - and no doubt Liberty media - with his post-retirement exploits.

Heading towards the grandstand to throw his gloves to the crowd, the Spaniard walked up into the stand to mingle with the fans.

"I hoped to give the gloves to the guys there but the grandstand was too far away so I thought it will not get there if I throw the gloves," he revealed. "So I thought I'd go up and throw the gloves, but once I was there I nearly couldn't leave.

"We have so much support from the fans here every time we come to Canada so I felt I should give something back."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Montreal, here.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by NS Biker, 14/06/2017 5:39

"Alonso shouldn't have too much trouble getting a decent drive .... somewhere. Gardening leave doesn't look like his style.
How is it that in Montreal, he set 4th fastest lap in a car that was so far down on top speed he called it dangerous.?? Maybe that is an indication of the strength of the McLaren car, Alonso or both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Paul C, 13/06/2017 12:59

"The NSX F1 power unit test car is a smart idea. When one team has road obstacles for entries, it tends to foul up the bigger show. If the Honda PU keeps being the stinker it is, they might as well plan to replace Alonso. The 2 time WDC is off to Indy Car if the PU doesn't improve to a high level of performance."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by NS Biker, 12/06/2017 16:28

"Engine development, assuming you know what you are doing, is done on a dyno or a stationary rig which includes the drive-train and the rest of the car.
No need to get a dispensation to conduct more testing. Won't improve anything. Well not much and it is expensive.
What I have never understood is why Honda doesn't have an NSX with an F1 power train pounding around a test track in Japan. Maybe it is against the rules, but call it an endurance racer, F1 trickle-down to road car relevancy, or call it what you will, why haven't they done it.??
Everyone talks about Honda having screwed up for three years. If I recall, Honda intentionally delayed their entry for the first year of the current power-pack regulation because they didn't have a product. That makes their sorry state of affairs FOUR YEARS and not three.....Ahhhh soooo.
"

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by Thomas1, 12/06/2017 14:12

"Reading Alonso's racing comments, one may choose to make the following statement:" We are consistent in our failures". That shows the sum improvement is zero or fatal errors are present. Honda needs more development time and testing. Why does not the F1 grant that as a special favor to Honda until they come up within a reasonable offset from the top engines' performance in this season? This arrangement should not affect the racing order now."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Alonso: Honda's speed deficit is "dangerous"

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page