Honda have revealed that High fuel consumption was the reason why Fernando Alonso was unable to score points at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Despite qualifying in the top 10, the Spaniard finished eleventh after being forced to save fuel for most of the race around the thirsty Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"We knew we were around tenth, ninth or eleventh so it is not the biggest surprise that we can finish eleventh,” said Honda's head of F1 Yusuke Hasegawa. "But because fuel consumption is very tough in this circuit Fernando needed to save fuel almost for the whole race. That’s cost us very much, I think."

"It is obviously disappointing. We assumed that in a power circuit like this we would struggle, we knew that without any chaotic situation like the weather then we understood it would be difficult to get a point," he continued. "The race proves that, so it was very disappointing."

Alonso's McLaren Honda team mate was the first retirement of the race after suffering apparent engine failure on lap nine. However, after investigation, it is thought the problem was in fact gearbox related after no damage to the power unit was found.

"We are not sure. From the data point of view the engine looks okay," said  Hasegawa. "The engine was still running and Jenson stopped the engine by himself. The oil pressure was still alive, so we don’t know the cause. It was some mechanical issue I think but we don’t know."