Fernando Alonso is pleased to be heading to Bahrain this weekend after his crash in the season-opener of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship in Australia.
“Firstly, I’m very pleased to be heading to Bahrain after the crash in Australia,” said Alonso. “I’ve spent some time resting and I can’t wait to get back in the car. Although on paper Melbourne wasn’t a great race for us, before the crash I’d been having some good battles and the car felt pretty promising, so I hope in Bahrain we can experience more of the same.
The Spaniard caused the first red flag of the season when his McLaren-Honda MP4-31 clipped the rear of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas F1 Team car and hit the wall before hitting the gravel trap sideways and rolling over twice.
Leading to the car inverted and heavily damaged next to the wall, Alonso was able to extract himself from the car. Honda confirmed on Tuesday that he will use his second engine of the season after the engine was too heavily damaged as a result of the impact from the accident. Also confirming that Alonso’s seat was cracked and will be replaced for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I really enjoy racing in Bahrain. It’s been a good circuit for me in the past – I’ve had three victories there – and there are quite a few good opportunities to overtake. There are lots of variables to think about and it’s one of the longest races, which usually produces some kind of drama. Hopefully we can enjoy some close racing and keep ourselves out of trouble.” he added.
