Fernando Alonso started the afternoon session at the Bahrain International Circuit with some minor problems, but the 41-year-old Spaniard was able to show his best during the second part of his session. The Aston Martin driver even clocked the second fastest time and only had to tolerate Max Verstappen ahead of him.
The afternoon session got off to a rocky start for Alonso, after the AMR23 suffered floor damage. It took the Spaniard some time, but later in the session he was able to get back on track. The Aston Martin driver showed his best side and came within 29 thousandths of Verstappen’s fastest time. Moments later Alonso tried to attack the Dutchman’s time again, but a poor first sector and a mistake in the last corner prevented him from improving his time.
All in all, Alonso is very pleased with the first day of testing. “Overall I am very pleased with the first official day of testing in the AMR23,” he said in an Aston Martin press release. “As a team we completed a total of 100 laps and that is a good start given the small issues we had to solve. We are still experimenting with a lot of things, so every round is important. We learn something new about the car every time we go out on track.”
Drugovich knows false start
Felipe Drugovich was allowed to replace the injured Lance Stroll during the morning session, but the start was rather rough for the Brazilian, to say the least. After a few minutes, his car came to a stop and immediately caused a red flag. After the problem was solved, Drugovich was still able to drive forty laps and that satisfies him. “It was great to drive the AMR23 for the first time. I enjoyed it very much. In the beginning I had to get used to it for a few laps, but after that I quickly got into a good rhythm’, says Drugovich.
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