Alonso's Grandmother Passes Away at the Age of 78

Fernando Alonso's weekend at his home grand prix in Valencia just got worst, as the Spaniard reportedly paid his respects to his maternal grandmother, who has passed away at the age of 78, on Wednesday.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, Alonso took his wife and traveled to his home town Oviedo, in order to gather around with the rest of the family. Maria Luisa Martinez Lopez, his grandmother, was believed to have suffered from a long illness. The funeral took place at the San Lazaro church in Oviedo.

Alonso is expected to join his Renault F1 team today, when he's “scheduled” to be all smiles during the autograph session at the Valencia circuit.

Alonso will try to end his lack of Formula One podiums streak this weekend, when he'll race before a home crown at the marina based circuit in Valencia. The last time the Spaniard stepped on an overall podium was back in 2008, at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Brazil.

Renault haven't announced anything new for the European Grand Prix, as they're to tackle this weekend's race with basically the same package as in Hungary. Alonso then scored his maiden pole position of the season – running on a low-fuel strategy, however – but was forced to pull out of the race after losing his right-hand front wheel during the Sunday action.

The first significant update on the Renault R29 will happen at Spa-Francorchamps, three weekends from now, as confirmed by the team's chief engineer Pat Symonds.