Alpine have ended their F1 test early and explained Fernando Alonso's technical fault

Alpine have decided to curtail their test running early with Fernando Alonso suffering a stoppage this morning in Barcelona on the final day of the first Formula 1 test.

The Barcelona test has been ongoing since Wednesday and has provided us with a first real glimpse of the new era of F1.

Certainly, they look an eye-catching set of new machines and each driver has started to get to grips with how they need to be driven ahead of the new season.

Every lap counts at this stage in terms of the learning process for driver and team, then, but Alpine aren’t going to be running any more until the Bahrain test next month now, with Fernando Alonso stopping out on track this morning:

An Alpine team statement read:

“After further investigations in the garage following Fernando Alonso’s on-track stoppage earlier this morning, the team can confirm the issue was a problem with the hydraulics. A minor sealing issue led to a fire in the back of the car.

“The team has successfully completed 266 laps during the three days of the Barcelona shakedown. Repairs on the car will continue, and as a result we won’t be running for the remainder of the day. We look forward to be back in action at the next test in Bahrain.”