Fernando Alonso to start at the back of COTA grid at the US GP

Fernando Alonso will start at the back of the grid at the US Grand Prix as he picks up his fourth engine of the season. The Alpine driver would be the third driver after Sebastian Vettel and George Russell to pick up a fourth power unit. That would ultimately mean a start at the back of the COTA grid for the Spanish driver.

It is worth noting that this happened after Fernando Alonso had an interrupted start to the weekend where he had to stop on his very first lap on Friday, with fuel dripping from underneath the car.

Although Alpine confirmed yesterday that the incident had no role to play in Alonso's changed engine, it begs the question of how much of an impact the incident did have on the team's decision to change the engine.

Fernando Alonso will have Sebastian Vettel and George Russel for the company at the back of the grid during the start of the race on Sunday.

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Fernando Alonso will be looking to play a pivotal role in Alpine's battle against Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso has had a remarkable season so far, and his team Alpine is in a consistent fight with Alpha Tauri for P5 in the constructors' standings. The start at the back of the grid would mean an uphill task for Fernando Alonso to secure a points finish in an Alpine.

For Alpine, with Alonso starting at the back of the grid, this would mean a scenario where the French team puts all its hopes on young Esteban Ocon to secure a decent haul of championship points this weekend.