Alonso gives blunt Sprint assessment after race-ending mistake

Fernando Alonso conceded to making a mistake in his race-ending Belgian Grand Prix Sprint accident but insisted Aston Martin was not a points threat.

On lap three of a shortened 11-lap Sprint, Alonso spun into the gravel at Pouhon while chasing Nico Hulkenberg to trigger a Safety Car.

It followed qualifying only 15th for the Sprint on his 42nd birthday, on what has been a difficult weekend for the team where boss Mike Krack admitting that it is now fifth-fastest.

Alonso's tricky birthday

"Behind the Safety Car, we wanted to put the Intermediates on as soon as possible, but having [teammate] Lance [Stroll] in front meant I put them on during the second lap," Alonso told media including RacingNews365.

"I lost quite a few positions and in the end, it was my mistake, I ended up in the gravel.

"But today we were going to take zero points, so it was zero points and in the gravel.

"We'll see if we can get dry laps [in the Grand Prix] and see how it goes because nobody has done it yet.

"I hope we can turn the page after a difficult Saturday where we got zero points with both cars."