Alonso spins at final corner after completing just five laps
Thursday 13 December 2018 16:31, UK
Fernando Alonso suffered a difficult start to winter testing in Barcelona as a loose wheel on his McLaren sent him spinning into the gravel inside the opening hour.
The right rear wheel came off the Spaniard's MCL33 in the final corner, pitching the two-time world champion into the gravel trap.
McLaren say a wheel-nut problem caused the issue with Zak Brown calling the delay "no big deal" despite Alonso completing just six laps in the session's opening three-and-a-half hours.
"We'll lose very little time," Brown, McLaren's executive director said. "There's no drama in the garage, everyone is quite relaxed and getting on with it.
"It's quite an easy fix that we're doing to get back out on track."
Alonso had completed only five laps before his accident, but he was able to climb out before inspecting the rear of his car.
"This is a very fast corner, you are coming around here at around 160mph. Not the start McLaren would have wanted," reported Sky Sports News' Craig Slater from the scene of the crash.
"He came out of the car and closely examined what had gone on, he was staring at the wheel trying to determine why it had come off."
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McLaren had been hoping to complete 100 laps per day during testing at the Circuit de Catalunya following their switch to Renault power for 2018.
Their 2017 testing proved a disaster in their final season with Honda, completing just 425 laps across the two tests and just 29 on the opening day.
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