Two retirements and a neck injury: Alonso drags his sentence into 2025

Forced to retire for the second time in a row due to a brake problem on his car in China, Fernando Alonso has had a very difficult start to the season. A victim of a mechanical problem in Shanghai, the Spaniard also admitted to suffering from neck pain.

Published 25/03/2025 à 17:36

Benoit Chelles

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Two retirements and a neck injury: Alonso drags his sentence into 2025

© Javier Jimenez / DPPI

Fernando Alonso, pilot Aston Martin, was the only driver to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix last Sunday. While his 13th position on the grid suggested he could score his first points for the 2025 season, those hopes went up in smoke, as did his brakes, early in the race. This "fire" forced the double world champion to retire, the second consecutive after his exit from the track at the Australian Grand Prix.

« The rear brakes were very hot from the first lap, explained the Spaniard. On my last lap before retiring, I braked hard in the first corner and the pedal stuck to the floor without anything happening." Despite the retirement, the Iberian considers himself lucky not to have caused a pile-up: " H"It's fortunate that the brakes failed me in the first corner, as the long right-hander and the engine allowed me to slow down. If that had happened at Turn 14, I would have taken out five or six cars. In a way, we were lucky not to have had an accident."

Alonso has a painful neck

Since the start of the 2025 season, the two-time world champion's results have so far been... non-existent. Indeed, with a second retirement in two races, the Spaniard is still not ranked in the world championship. Formula 1, due to lack of checkered flags crossed. If the Iberian suffers from a car average at the start of the season, he also suffers from neck pain. I wore a neck brace during the race because I had a pinched nerve or something like that the last few days." said Fernando Alonso after his very short Chinese Grand Prix.

There's no need to worry for the Asturian warrior, who is relatively used to going into battle injured. Last year, he suffered from a painful shoulder for six races, particularly in Brazil, where the uneven road surface caused considerable havoc for the drivers. Be careful, though, and don't be fooled into thinking that Alonso's 43-year-old age is responsible for his ailments. The two-time world champion is like his favorite football club's number 9, Kylian Mbappé: don't talk to him about age! You take a painkiller and go back. When I'm not feeling well physically, people immediately bring up my age, but that has nothing to do with it." explained the Iberian about his minor injuries during the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2024.

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2 Comment (s)

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vincent moyet

25/03/2025 at 10:15 a.m.

We shouldn't tempt fate. Maybe it's time to stop the costs, right?

Yves-Henri RANDIER

25/03/2025 at 06:12 a.m.

The only permanent contract on the grid ahead of Fernand in the Drivers' standings, that must be unprecedented!!

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