Fernando Alonso forced to use a new engine in Bahrain
After his terrible crash at the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso will be forced to change his engine for the next race in Bahrain this weekend, as Honda was unable to recover and repair the damaged power unit.
It’s a double blow for Spaniard Fernando Alonso following his collision in the first race of the year. Indeed, the double world champion left Australia with a zero score in the world championship and is already down one of his five available power units for the season.
Indeed, Honda did not manage to repair the Spaniard’s V6, which was too damaged after his collision with Esteban Gutierriez’s Haas. The latter, meanwhile, will benefit from a new chassis provided by his team.
The new Honda boss, Yusuke Hasegawa, confirmed the bad news: “We were able to bring back the power unit used by Fernando in Melbourne. But after thorough investigations, we found that some components were too damaged. The impact was very violent. We will entirely replace the power unit for Bahrain.”
For his part, Alonso remains confident and emphasizes the efficiency of his team in helping him perform well at this second Grand Prix, after his accident in Melbourne: “There have been great efforts by the team, in Woking and Sakura, to build new parts so that we can quickly get back after the chassis was damaged. I am impressed by the speed with which all this has been executed,” stated the Spaniard.
While the reliability of the Honda engine was already a concern for the team last year, the Spanish driver is already nearing a potential penalty for exceeding the allowed quota.
