Fernando Alonso's data from Mexico GP is astonishing after lap 6 retirement

Fernando Alonso's power unit issues were so extreme during the Mexico City Grand Prix that he laughed over the team radio before ultimately retiring from the race on lap six.

Both Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll were both forced to stop their cars in the early stages of the Grand Prix, with Aston Martin telling both drivers that they had 'abnormal pressure levels in the PU systems'.

The two drivers ran at the back of the field at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and, while Alonso was at least able to get his car back to the pits, Stroll was told to stop the car by the side of the circuit, resulting in a virtual safety car (VSC). In the context of all of that, new data has emerged from Alonso's Grand Prix that is staggering.

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Fernando Alonso's timing data emerges from Mexico GP

The lack of performance of the Honda power unit has been a major concern all season for Aston Martin, and the vibrations it caused during the opening Grands Prix were even flagged as a safety issue by then team principal Adrian Newey as it could not complete full race distances.

The team have worked tirelessly to improve the chassis over the season to the point where it is now one of the most driveable cars on the grid; Alonso's fastest lap time in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was 2.6 seconds off Max Verstappen's pole time, and it later emerged that Aston Martin were losing at least two seconds per lap on the straights.

During the race in Mexico City, Alonso and Stroll were comfortably slower than the rest of the field in the first sector. Except Valtteri Bottas (28.2 average), every other driver in the field was in the 27s, with Alonso and Stroll averaging 28.5 seconds and 28.7 seconds respectively.

In the shorter third sector, Alonso was more competitive in 17th but was still 0.6 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, who was the fastest driver across the race in that part of the circuit. Stroll was down in 21st and only ahead of Bottas.

But it is in the second sector where things get fascinating. Alonso (32.126) recorded the ninth-highest sector two average across the entire field. He was faster than McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who finished seventh but dropped out of the points due to a time penalty.

When you add in the other factors affecting Alonso - the already under-performing power unit on top of the abnormal pressure levels, high fuel loads and a green track at the beginning of the race - it really does put into some perspective just how competitive the Aston Martin could be with a better engine.

It is worth noting, as well, that drivers were allowed to change tyres on the grid during the lap 45 red flag period, meaning that, combined with much lower fuel loads, more cars could theoretically have surpassed Alonso in the sector charts. But that didn't happen.

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Fernando Alonso on Mexico GP

"Hopefully not one to forget - we can learn," Alonso told F1TV on his Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. "The car is very good. The problem is just that we cannot do more laps than a certain number, apparently, with the engine. As I say, hopefully we learned the lesson and we come next year more prepared.

"We try again [in Brazil], yes. I'm doing my best. Every lap I do, every morning I wake up, every preparation I do. Every food I take. Everything is focused on performing at my best behind the wheel. But I'm not able to accommodate enough laps."

His team-mate Stroll was even more brief in his assessment of what proved to be his two-lap race: "An issue with the engine. We were having issues with the engine for those two laps, so yeah. We'll see how we go in Brazil."