Speaking after the race, he said: “It was okay, the start was good. Obviously a lot of action in front of us so we capitalised on that but apparently there was a bit of debris on the front brake ducts and the temperatures were over the moon.
“We tried to mitigate that, moving the brake balance rearwards and different actions, but it was still not under control so unfortunately we had to retire the car – a bit unlucky today.”
READ MORE: From defensive masterclasses to title-worthy charges – Our writers pick their favourite Alonso moments as he marks his 400th GP appearance
The Spaniard hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to landmark occasions in F1 – he also suffered a DNF at his 300th Grand Prix back in 2018, as well as his 200th at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Asked whether it hurts more due to it being such a special milestone, Alonso explained: “It hurts always the same, to be honest, when you don’t see the chequered flag. It doesn’t matter which number.
