Formula 1 not on Fernando Alonso's mind in Spa, focus is on FIFA world cup final between Spain & Argentina

It will be another miserable weekend for Alonso in the cockpit of the Aston Martin AMR26 and its underpowered Honda power unit, as Spa will aggravate the Silverstone squad's woes as they plan a major car upgrade for Hungary. Honda are planning a power unit upgrade after the summer break.

"It will be different, as we don't expect much this weekend," Alonso told the media in Spa on Thursday when asked about his expectations.

However, the double Formula 1 Champion may have something else to cheer about, as Spain will be fighting for its second FIFA World Cup after winning its first back in 2010.

The match is scheduled to start at 19:00 GMT, while Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix starts at 13:00 GMT.

Alonso admitted: "The main focus on Sunday will be ​to get home and watch the match, to be honest.

"It's going to be tricky because we are flying back home," he added. "So maybe again on Sunday the second half will be probably ​the moment that I ​will watch the ⁠game.

"And the first half, just miss it," he lamented, referring to 2010 when the FIFA final coincided with an F1 race weekend.

Franco Colapinto will also have his head somewhere else in Spa as his country, Argentina, fights for a fourth FIFA World Cup.

He commented: "I'm definitely going to ​be much ⁠more nervous about the match than the race.

"Yesterday [the semifinal against England] we had a lot of fun, a lot of suffering. But if you ⁠don't ​suffer a bit, you're not Argentinian.

"It was one ​of those matches that, you are really nervous, but then you celebrate a lot. So it ​was a long night, but very fun," the Alpine driver concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)