29/03/2016
NEWS STORY
Honda has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will receive a totally new power unit for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.
As one might expect, such was the ferocity of the Spaniard's Melbourne crash that his chassis was totally beyond repair. However, Honda has revealed that his entire power unit was also only fit for scrap.
"We have recovered the power unit from Fernando's car used in Melbourne," confirmed Yusuke Hasegawa, the Japanese manufacturer's F1 boss. "After initial investigations, we are massively disappointed that the ICE and most of the surrounding parts have been heavily damaged, as the impact from the accident was just too great. We will be replacing the complete power unit in Bahrain."
Meanwhile, the other driver involved in the Melbourne mayhem, Esteban Gutierrez, will get a new chassis, though his old one can be repaired.
"Some of the parts were sent back to Europe to be checked and fixed because we can’t do it onsite in Bahrain," revealed team boss Guenther Steiner.
"We have enough spare parts to build up another chassis, so we will use that. Then the chassis that is repaired will be sent to Bahrain via air to serve as our spare.
"Our spare quantity is down," he admitted, "but we have enough to get going again, so we will just keep on working."