MADRID, 10 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso (Alpine) will start this Sunday from the last row of the grid at the Austrian Grand Prix by changing the power unit of his car after it suffered an electrical problem during the race to the sprint of the Saturday at Red Bull Ring.
“Fernando suffered an electrical problem yesterday on his ‘A522’, the root cause of which is still being investigated. We suspect a possible failure of the standard electronic control unit, the energy storage control unit or any of the electrical cables on the chassis or the power unit,” Alpine explained in a statement on Sunday.
In this sense, the French team assured that, “as a precautionary measure” for the race, it has decided to “install a new SECU, switch boxes, electrical wiring and power unit” in the Spaniard’s car, so it should start from the last row of the grid.
In another order of things, Alpine explained that it has replaced the part that supposedly caused problems to the car of Frenchman Esteban Ocon on Saturday; after finishing the sprint race, his car stopped in the middle of the track due to “a suspected electrical problem in the high pressure fuel pump”. “The part has been replaced for today’s Grand Prix, and for future races the team is actively seeking a solution to the cause,” he said.