SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Honda's data was showing no signs of a problem when Fernando Alonso reported an engine issue and retired his McLaren from Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
Alonso's afternoon got off to a promising start when he moved from 11th to seventh place in the opening corner, but a series of lost positions on the long straight up to Les Combes over the following eight laps relegated him back to his starting position.
"Embarrassing, really embarrassing," Alonso said after being passed by the Haas of Romain Grosjean for tenth position. Not long after he told his engineer "I really don't care too much about the gaps [to rival cars].