F1 champion in TEARY statement on devastating event

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso gave an emotional interview after the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which he explained how grateful he was to have finished the race.

The Spaniard had a difficult Brazilian GP weekend, suffering a huge crash during Sunday morning qualifying, before an unfortunate race saw him finish down in 14th.

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During Saturday's sprint race, the 43-year-old could only finish down in 18th, a long way away from the points-scoring positions awarded in that format.

Alonso's Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll suffered a similarly poor weekend, also crashing in qualifying before not even being able to start the grand prix having crashed during the formation lap.

Following his crash in qualifying, Alonso's team had just over three hours to repair the champion's badly damaged car before the start of the race.

Remarkably, Aston Martin managed to get both Alonso and Stroll on the starting grid, although Stroll's involvement didn't last long, causing an aborted start.

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Alonso's Valencia tribute

After the race, an emotional Alonso paid tribute to his team for getting him onto the start grid, also explaining how grateful he was to finish the race in a week in which his home country was hit by devastating flooding.

The floods mainly hit the Valencia region of Spain, with the death toll currently standing at 214, with fears that the number will continue to rise as more rain threatens to bring devastation to Catalonia too.

A visibly emotional Alonso told Spanish media after the race: "It's the same day for everyone. We've done the work ourselves.

"The car bounced a lot in the second part of the race and the truth is that in normal conditions it wouldn't have finished, but it had to be done for the mechanics, for me too, who suffered a bit before arriving here, for the people in Valencia, for the people who are in worse situations than the bounce I had today."

🗣️ El mensaje de Fernando Alonso, visiblemente emocionado 🥹

"Tenía que terminar por los mecánicos, por mí, por la gente de Valencia y por mucha gente que está en peores situaciones que el rebote que tenía yo hoy"#BrasilDAZNF1 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/mbCYmjqIb0

— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) November 3, 2024

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