Alonso's Monza assassin has a face: DNF cause revealed

"The team can confirm some gravel hit Fernando's car in the first lap of the race in multiple areas, including his suspension, which compromised it," Aston Martin said.

Alonso, following the pit stop sequence, was running 15th at the time of the bizarre suspension failure he suffered as he negotiated the Ascari chicane.

Prior to that the Spaniard had jumped Sauber rookie and his protegé for 8th place at the pit stops, following an on-the-limit approach entering the pit lane. Bortoleto would go on to reach the checkered flag in 8th, which indicates a solid points finish was on the table.

The Spanird driver has suffered strategic setbacks as well as costly reliability issues that have resulted in a substantial points deficit in Aston Martin's fight for best of the race spot with Williams.

This deficit has also placed them in a vulnerable position as Racing Bulls and Sauber stand in close vicinity to the Silverstone-based outfit in the Constructors' standings.

"It's frustrating that I should have maybe 20-30 points more than what I have - not down to me - but it the way it is," said Alonso to GPblog after the race. "Unfortunately, I'm getting used to it."

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