Alonso braced for setback after latest F1 health scare

Fernando Alonso is bracing himself for a setback in his recovery from health problems after a "nightmare" Sao Paulo Grand Prix. 

Alonso was late in arriving in Brazil after returning to Europe following the Mexico City GP for an intestinal infection and treatment from specialists, missing media day for the second straight week. 

The Aston Martin driver then complained of severe lower back pain in the closing stages of the race itself on a troubled weekend in which he started the sprint from the pit-lane, crashed in qualifying and then finished in 14th place, just over a second clear of Zhou Guanyu - the last finisher.

Alonso radioed his team to say he would only finish the race as a thank you to the mechanics who rebuilt his car on Sunday morning after qualifying was moved - and later suggested the recovery time from the weekend would involve "setbacks."

"There was a lot of bouncing and porpoising in the second half of the race, but I don't know why, so it was tough and we went out of the points," the two-time champion told media including RacingNews365.

"In any other circumstances, probably I would have stopped, but the mechanics did an incredible job before the race to put the car on the grid, so I had to finish for them, but it was difficult.

"It was painful, and leading into this race, it was a lot of preparation from my side, a lot of checks, a lot of hard work, a lot of physios and doctors in order to come here to Brazil.

"It was an incredible commitment to come here to race a car that was not able to race with the others, all the checks have been done, I checked everything in the last days, and we did a lot of work. 

"After this race, we will have a setback for sure with my body for the next four or five days so we will have to rest."

'A nightmare race'

Describing his race, Alonso detailed how a brake issue created a "nightmare", as he also put his troubles into perspective given the recent catastrophic flooding in Spain, in which hundreds are feared dead. 

"I had a brake issue after the restart where the brake balance shifted completely rearwards, it was like braking with a hand brake, so it was a nightmare out there," he said.

"It was not comfortable in the car, but there are people worse than me in Valencia with the terrible images, and so I had to struggle for a couple of laps for everybody."