There was doubtless a fair amount of anger and frustration bubbling away as well, although the two-times world champion managed to keep a lid on that in front of the assembled media at least. "He was not very happy this morning," said Racing Director Eric Boullier, diplomatically. Champions Mercedes managed 152 laps between their two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. "We are disappointed, we are sad to arrive to the first day and not be able to run. Alonso did 119 laps on his first day in the car last year, and Monday was more reminiscent of Jerez in 2015 when he completed just six.

Source: The Star February 27, 2017 19:07 UTC