Alonso completes maiden MP4-22 test

Fernando Alonso completed a promising first day of testing at the wheel of McLaren's new Formula One car at the Valencia circuit

In what was only his second test with his new team, Alonso made his debut at the wheel of the MP4-22, completing 57 laps of the Spanish track.

The day was not without trouble, however, as Alonso was forced to return to the pits when smoke began to come out from the back of his McLaren around 3pm.

After around an hour, the world champion returned to the track and managed the fastest lap of the day with a time of 1:12.053.

A total of 7,800 fans attended the test to witness the local hero turn his first laps in McLaren's new car.

"I am very happy after today's shakedown in the MP4-22," said Alonso. "We achieved our principle objectives, with regards how the car felt to drive. I am familiar with the MP4-21 as I tested it for one day last year, so there were no great surprises.

"It has the same philosophy, which is good as I felt comfortable in this car. Working with the team so far has been really positive and I feel that the atmosphere is really enthusiastic.

"Everyone is really focused on preparing the car for the first race and we are approaching the start of the new season in a good way. Obviously today was just a shakedown and as a result running was limited.

"We were working in a very concentrated manner and attention was being paid to every detail of the car. I feel that over all today has been really good and the next few weeks testing will be very productive."

The BMW Sauber team completed their second day of work with the new F1.07 unveiled yesterday. German Nick Heidfeld completed 123 laps with the new car, while teammate Robert Kubica worked with an hybrid version.

There were two red flags during the day, the first caused by Alonso's engine problem and the second when Heidfeld stopped on track.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:12.053   57
 2.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:12.169   52
 3.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:12.571  123
 
All Timing Unofficial