F1 car wheeled off Belgian Grand Prix grid minutes before race in huge blow

Alpine's miserable season went from bad to worse at the Belgian Grand Prix when Pierre Gasly suffered a car problem before the Sprint race even began. As a result, his car was wheeled off the grid just 15 minutes before the start of Saturday's short-form race.

Gasly had headed out onto the track with the rest of his rivals for his reconnaissance laps of the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the first of two races this weekend. The Frenchman would have been eyeing a possible points finish after superbly qualifying eighth on the grid for the Sprint.

But he never even got the chance to start after reporting a loss of power while heading to the grid. Alpine called him into the pit lane but Gasly ignored that request, as he pulled up at the back of the grid as usual to be wheeled to his starting spot.

His engineers did exactly that, but it soon became clear that the problem was more serious than they had hoped. They took the engine cover off the car and spotted a problem that could not be fixed on the grid, and so the car was wheeled back to the garage just a few minutes before the start of the Sprint.

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And the team confirmed shortly after that the car had suffered a water leak issue and that Gasly would not be able to start with the rest of the pack. The 29-year-old was soon out of his car and looking frustrated as he spoke to team boss Flavio Briatore and his engineers back in the garage.

To make matters worse for the team, Gasly's team-mate Franco Colapinto was set to start from the pit lane after changes were made to his car. The Argentine had qualified in the bottom five anyway and so was already unlikely to score points. Gasly did manage to head out on track during the Sprint, but two laps down on the rest of the pack and so, for him, it was little more than another opportunity for testing.

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Alpine sit at the bottom of the constructors' championship with just 19 points to show for their efforts so far this year. Every single one of them was scored by Gasly who has been in fine personal form despite being saddled with a largely uncompetitive car with a weak engine.

The team's situation is made all the more desperate by their struggles to find a strong team-mate for the Frenchman. Jack Doohan was axed just six races into the season after failing to score a point, but his replacement Colapinto has also floundered and failed to contribute.

Briatore has showed an unusual amount of patience with Colapinto so far, at least in public, calling for the Argentine to be cut some slack by the media and given time to find his feet. But, privately, it is understood the team has been mulling its options.

Valtteri Bottas, a 10-time F1 race winner, has held talks with the team. The Finn is looking for a way back onto the grid having been forced to settle for a reserve role with Mercedes this year, but is also wanted by new outfit Cadillac which is understood to be his preferred destination as it stands.