Fernando Alonso has suggested reliability is Alpine’s weakest link during the 2022 Formula 1 season.

The Anglo-French operation temporarily fell to fifth in the constructors’ championship, slipping behind McLaren following the Singapore Grand Prix after both Alonso and team-mate Esteban Ocon retired in Marina Bay with power unit issues.

Alonso was also a retirement from the Italian Grand Prix with power unit issues.

In Japan last time out, Alpine bounced back with fourth and seventh while McLaren mustered just a single point in Suzuka courtesy of Lando Norris in tenth.

With full points awarded for the race, the Enstone operation sits fourth in the constructors’ championship once more, now with a 13-point buffer back to its nearest rival.

“We have been, you know, hit quite badly about reliability this year,” Alonso asserted of the 2022 campaign and the ongoing battle with McLaren.

“We lost a lot of points and unfortunately now we are in this battle with McLaren few points behind.

“Hopefully we can have a normal [four] races now and finish on a high. But yeah, [reliability] has been our weakest point this year.”

Alonso went on to suggest reliability issues have cost him, and the team, dearly in the championship standings.

“I was, I think, minus 50 points already this year with the mechanical issues. We add another 10 points, so we are minus 60,” he suggested.

“If you add 60 points to my standings I think we were in another league.”

Alonso sits ninth in the drivers’ title fight, a further 60 points would see him sit above Lando Norris as the leading driver outside the top three teams.

Meanwhile, the additional points for the team would make no difference in the constructors’ championship beyond moving the squad comfortably clear of McLaren, as it currently trails Mercedes by 244 with four races remaining.

Fourth is therefore the best Alpine can hope to finish the 2022 season.