Bahrain test a waste of time, says Alonso

Rivals Honda, Ferrari and the Toro Rosso squad travelled to the Sakhir circuit over two weeks ago to test ahead of the season-opening race there. The rest of the teams continued with their testing programmes in Europe.

And while Ferrari and Honda have claimed the test will prove beneficial when the Grand Prix starts, Alonso says they wasted time and money.

"I think we did the right thing by staying in Europe, but it would have been different if other teams went there too, besides Toro Rosso," Alonso told SportAutoMoto. "There were never more than five cars on track in Bahrain, and the asphalt was always dirty and sandy.

"Every day they lost lots of time cleaning the racing line and just a bit of wind was enough to be back at the beginning. The track will be three or four seconds faster this week for the race.

"I suspect Ferrari, Honda and Toro Rosso wasted their time and money."