McLaren has confirmed it was a coolant leak that caused Fernando Alonso to complete just three laps on the final day of the first Formula 1 pre-season test in Spain.
The two-time world champion was at the wheel of the McLaren MP4-31 for the second time, but a reliability issue severely impacted his time in the car on the last day of the test.
The Spaniard failed to set a timed lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and was forced to spend most of the day waiting around. McLaren tried to fix the issue but ran out of time, deciding to call it a day early.
Despite the issue, McLaren has largely enjoyed a trouble-free few days of running, gathering lots of data on the new car and power unit ahead of the second and final test next week.
"Today was disappointing after starting the first couple of days of the test so positively,” Alonso said. "Still, it’s good news that although the issue we had on the car meant we had to miss a lot of today’s running, it’s not a major problem and will be fixed in time for next week’s test.
"Overall, we’ve managed a good number of laps during this test, which means we have a lot of data to analyse and learn from.
"Over the weekend we’ll work hard to get everything prepared for next week, with the aim of getting as much time on track as possible.”
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