- Japanese GP - Race
Power failure caused retirement - Alonso
Fernando Alonso said a power failure led to his suspension at the Japanese Grand Prix but admitted it meant nothing with his friend Jules Bianchi in a serious condition after an accident at Suzuka.
Alonso has a good relationship with Ferrari academy driver Bianchi, who suffered a severe head injury after hitting a recovery vehicle at Suzuka. Alonso's race had finished much earlier, with his Ferrari slowing to a halt on lap 10 after the initial restart following the start behind a safety car.
"My car switched down the power, I don't know what happened," Alonso said. "The electricity went, maybe some water in to some connectors or something and it switched off the car completely and it was impossible to start again. But it's not the most important thing at the moment with the news about Jules. We're waiting for some good news. We know nothing and that's not good."
Alonso was not on track later in the race, when the conditions worsened before Bianchi's accident, but says it was a shame he was not in a position to take some gambles when the race restarted.
"Obviously I did only the first two laps and then it was the red flag and after the red flag there was a lot of water so it was a good decision. When we started again I only did a few corners so I cannot really judge. It's a shame because in the conditions we were able to take some risks because we had nothing to lose. So we could play with intermediate, extreme or whatever in these conditions."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
