Formula One news
Bitter frustration for Alonso
26 July 2009 / Results / PhotosAfter clinching his first pole position at the Hungaroring since Italy 2007 with McLaren, Fernando Alonso made a strong start to lead the first stint of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. The Spaniard's race came to a depressing end, however, when a vibrating tyre resulted in the loss of his right-front wheel.
Managing to limp round to the pits, Alonso's retirement brought an premature end to a day which had promised so much for the Champion of 2005 and 2006. "Today we missed an opportunity to finish on the podium," he said after the race. "I made a good start and the car was quick during my first stint but then we had a problem at my first stop when fitting the right-front wheel.
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| Pole position translated to nothing for the unfortunate Alonso |
"When I left the pits there was a lot of vibration and it felt like I had a puncture but then, a few corners later, the wheel flew off my car. I made it back to the pits to replace it but then the problem I'd had with my fuel pump since Lap 2 returned and started to get worse so we had to retire the car."
Having made his feelings clear to television cameras when walking to the interview pen, the Spaniard sinks to 11th in the championship standings. "It's a shame that we missed this chance but these things happen in racing and I'm trying to look on the bright side because we saw this weekend that the car is very competitive," Fernando added. "I'm now looking ahead to the next race in Valencia, where I hope we can build on the promise we have shown here."
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