Fernando Alonso was unlucky as he retired out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with an engine issue. The Spanish driver was running in P7 when he started to go slowly at the Jeddah international circuit.

He then completed a whole lap at the walker’s pace before stopping the car at the pit entry. Although the reason for his retirement was not disclosed after the race. Alpine General Manager Laurent Rossi has come out to reveal the issue with the water pump.

“It is not the engine, but the water pump. The problem is that the part is integrated into the engine. The water pump failed and fell into the engine. If we had wanted to fix it, we would have had to break the seal. Therefore, the engine is lost to us. Even if the physical integrity is not directly affected, it means one less engine for us,” said Rossi.

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The water pump failed, and it is an essential part of the engine. Fernando’s retirement at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix means that in Australia Alonso would have to use a 3rd engine for the 3rd race of the season.

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Throughout the season, F1 has allocated a driver to use three engines before they start giving out penalties. We will race for the 3rd race of the season next week and Fernando’s already using his 3rd engine.

This is indeed a worrying sign for the 2-time world champion as he is on his last engine, which surely won’t last the remaining 21 races. Alonso has a history of racing in cars with unreliable engines, which were previously documented in his partnership with McLaren-Honda.

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But he would hope the team would find solutions to fixing the reoccurring issues in power unit issues. The French team clearly has a competitive package for the 2022 season. If they can find a fix to their problems, they can stretch the advantage over the rest of the midfield and get a stranglehold of 4th in the constructor’s championship.

Meanwhile, Alonso would hope that going into Melbourne next week, his luck will see an upturn, allowing him to score some good points.