Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

Toyota to enter hydrogen-powered car in 2027 Dakar Rally

Dakar
Toyota to enter hydrogen-powered car in 2027 Dakar Rally

Alesi to return to Super Formula in Fuji car-sharing deal

Super Formula
Alesi to return to Super Formula in Fuji car-sharing deal

Why Red Bull and Verstappen struggled at Silverstone – and expect the same at Spa

Formula 1
British GP
Why Red Bull and Verstappen struggled at Silverstone – and expect the same at Spa

Steiner explains why teams are forgoing a profit share with MotoGP

MotoGP
German GP
Steiner explains why teams are forgoing a profit share with MotoGP

How Leclerc has changed his steering wheel software for the first time since joining Ferrari

Formula 1
British GP
How Leclerc has changed his steering wheel software for the first time since joining Ferrari

Why Vasseur's steady hand is exactly what fervent Ferrari needs right now

Feature
Formula 1
British GP
Why Vasseur's steady hand is exactly what fervent Ferrari needs right now

Top 10 F1 drivers of the 2000s

Feature
Formula 1
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 2000s

How the more technical F1 2026 regulations hinder customer teams

Formula 1
British GP
How the more technical F1 2026 regulations hinder customer teams

Fernando Alonso says he 'doesn't need' final day of F1 testing

Fernando Alonso says he "doesn't need" the final day of Formula 1 testing at Barcelona, despite McLaren's lack of running so far this week

Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne managed only 38 laps on the first day of the second and final pre-season test on Tuesday, while Alonso was also hit by trouble on Wednesday.

The two-time champion spent over six hours in the garage as the team was forced to replace the Renault engine after an oil leak, completing 57 laps.

Alonso is scheduled to have his final day of testing before the Australian GP on Friday, but the Spaniard feels confident McLaren has all the answers it needs about the car already, and insisted he was not "too stressed" about McLaren's problems so far.

"Definitely we would have liked to do a little bit more laps today," said Alonso. "The programme was a little bit longer than 50 laps, but at the end of the day we discovered things.

"This is part of testing and hopefully these things don't happen on lap 10 in Melbourne, so in a way I'm happy to make the car stronger and stronger.

"All the important parts and things on the programme we managed to do in the morning - the rest of the day was more about long runs and putting laps with no information needed, so I'm not too stressed about the laps lost today.

"Probably we need the last day to do some laps, to do some long runs, to check extra things, but in terms of fundamental answers that we need for the winter tests they are already okay, we have all of them.

"So I don't need the last day. I will be in the car, I will drive, hopefully we keep discovering new things on the car."

Alonso reiterated his belief that the new MCL33 has no fundamental issues and claimed all the problems the team has had so far are minor.

"There is nothing fundamentally wrong on the car and all the issues we had they are well under control," he added.

"Unfortunately we keep discovering new things [problems] every day, but I think that's putting us in a strong position for Australia."

Previous article F1 testing: Mercedes now sees Red Bull as a threat for 2018
Next article F1's new 2018 restart rules risk causing chaos - Romain Grosjean

Top Comments

Latest news