Alonso defiant after terminal Sainz contact: 'He didn't give up'

Fernando Alonso has reacted to his late-race contact with Carlos Sainz in China that resulted in his retirement from the event.

Alonso started the sprint race from third on the grid and held the position for much of the outing before being attacked by Sainz late on.

Sainz and Alonso ran side-by-side through Turn 7 as they battled for third place before the Spanish duo collided at Turn 9.

The touch resulted in a puncture for Alonso, with Aston Martin opting to retire the car from the race.

The pair were summoned to the stewards after the outing to deliberate the matter.

He was hit with a penalty by the stewards for the move.

'Someone has to give up'

With the payout from a sprint being less than the points awarded during a grand prix, Alonso was relaxed despite with missing out on a top-eight result.

However, the two-time world champion deflected suggestion that he was to blame.

“It was OK, it was tough racing for sure,” Alonso told Sky F1. “A couple of corners we were parallel to each other in a wheel-to-wheel battle.

“Someone has to give up, I gave up the racing line at Turn 8 to avoid contact. He didn’t give up at Turn 9 and we didn’t avoid contact.

“The sprint race, there are only two or three points in play. Our natural position is maybe seventh or eighth, so not many points.

“It’s a shame not to finish but I think we lost not many points today.”