- Abu Dhabi GP - FP2
Electrical problem ruins Alonso's practice
Ferrari has revealed an electrical problem brought Fernando Alonso's second practice session to an early end at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Alonso completed just two laps before his Ferrari came to a halt in the final sector. Engineering director Pat Fry said an electrical issue was to blame and is being fixed in time for final practice on Saturday.
Second practice offers the most representative track conditions for qualifying and the race as the sun sets during the 90 minute session and Alonso was disappointed to miss out.
"It was a real shame losing the opportunity to take part in the second free practice session here at Yas Marina, as it's the only chance to get an idea of how things will really go this weekend. On my second lap, the car just stopped unexpectedly and even though the marshals did their best to push the car back to the pits in time to get it back out on track, the work took the mechanics longer than expected.
"In the first session, we managed to complete our programme and the car behaved as expected, but the temperature, much hotter than it will be in qualifying and the race, means the data we acquired is not that relevant.
"For the same reason, tomorrow's third session won't be that useful and that means the first lap to match conditions in qualifying and the race, in the dark in the afternoon, will be the first lap in Q1. We definitely won't be that well prepared but all the same, we will try our best as usual."
Fry added: "In the second session, an electrical problem meant Fernando had to park the car on track and the guys are now fixing the problem for tomorrow's practice. This incident is further proof that reliability, down to the smallest detail, is a major challenge for all teams, even right to the last race. It won't be an easy weekend, but we'll be trying to score as many points as possible, given that every position is worth double."
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