Fernando Alonso

Alonso CRASHES out of Belgian GP sprint to compound miserable 42nd birthday

Joe Ellis Saturday 29 July 2023 18:02 Updated: 18:08

Alonso tijdens kwalificatie op Spa-Francorchamps

Fernando Alonso has ended his 42nd birthday in miserable fashion, crashing out of the Belgian GP sprint.

The Spaniard had already dropped to 16th after waiting an extra lap to put intermediate tyres on and as he chased Nico Hulkenberg, he clipped a white line and spun off.

The safety car was expectedly called as Oscar Piastri held off Max Verstappen's challenge in the opening laps.

This is Alonso's first failure to score points in any race in 2023, breaking a very long run at the start of his Aston Martin career.

Horrid day

Alonso was far down the grid because his team-mate, Lance Stroll, crashed in SQ2 before he could get a lap on the board.

Aston Martin chose to risk not setting a lap time at the start on intermediates to go for it late on slicks.

It was a gamble that didn't work and to then crash in the race itself is a horrid way to spend a 42nd birthday.

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