SPA, Monza -- Fernando Alonso gave a damning assessment of McLaren's increasingly difficult season after another retirement at the Italian Grand Prix.
Alonso's race lasted just nine laps before he crawled back into the pits with car trouble. The two-time world champion, who is quitting Formula One at the end of the current season, had moved up into the top ten just before the problem occurred.
The Spanish driver said McLaren has gone backwards in the reliability department.
When asked if it was another chapter of a painful season, he said: "It is, it is. It is a shame because sometimes we were in the points like here.