Alonso stopped on the side of the track in Barcelona, smoke coming out of the engine hood. These are images that we don’t like to experience as a fan of F1, especially at the beginning of the season after only 3 days of private testing.
The winter tests are here to test the mechanics and verify that everything functions as intended. Laurent Rossi announced this week that he would rather have a powerful engine than a reliable one, and the team pushed its new engine architecture to the limit, yet the engine does not seem to be directly involved.
Alpine has reported on a hydraulic leak that caused this smoke plume to come into contact with the engine’s heat, resulting in a fire.
After investigating Alonso’s car, the team confirms that the problem comes from a minor hydraulic sealing defect that led to a fire at the rear of the car.
The damages are significant enough to not be able to participate in the last half-day of testing on the Spanish track.
Alpine covered 266 laps over these three days without any major incidents, which is roughly equivalent to 3 and a half Grand Prix races. Alonso could only complete 12 laps this morning.
Final day here in Barcelona 👊 and Fernando is back in the #A522 this morning. #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/IgYEHTdJSS
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 25, 2022
