ALONSO, A BOXES
Fernando goes to the pits after 7 laps but returns quickly. Hamilton is fifth and Leclerc, seventh. Verstappen is still in command, racking up hours of work.
Alonso climbs to 11th place. He improves his previous time by almost five tenths with 1: 34.780 and rides calmly. It looks like they can start breathing easy at Aston Martin.
Alonso’s first half! The Aston Martin driver records a 1:35.255 and is 14th in the standings. In the first sector he was less than three tenths behind Verstappen.
COME BACK ALONSO!
Finally! Fernando Alonso returns to film in Bahrain after a very long break due to problems with his car. Let’s see how the car responds now.
Alonso, very aware of the work on his AMR23. He must be desperate to get in the car. Meanwhile, Verstappen continues scoring long runs.
OCON, IN TROUBLE
Esteban Ocon, the Asturian’s former teammate at Alpine, also has problems. He has only been able to roll seven laps. The Frenchman is also out of his A523.
The Aston Martin team begins this preseason with the problem of Drugovich and now with Alonso. Everything indicates that the flat bottom of the AM23 is damaged, and the mechanics are working to fix it. Seems like it’s going long.
@alo_oficial He did not go out on the track because the flat bottom of the AMR23 was damaged during a pit stop. They are repairing it now. pic.twitter.com/csqAKZyAvx
– Antonio Lobato (@alobatof1) February 23, 2023
ALONSO GETS OUT OF THE CAR
Aston Martin tweaks follow before heading back out. Alonso has gotten out of the car after only two laps and is talking to the rest of the engineers. Hamilton is tenth and Verstappen is close to his best time of the morning.
After giving an installation and recognition lap, Alonso has returned to the pits.