Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of team McLaren got off to an unlucky start to the pre-season on Monday, skidding into the gravel after his right rear wheel came off just 45 minutes into the first day of winter testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.
The red flag was raised after the crash, suspending the race until the Spaniard’s papaya orange and blue MCL33 car was dislodged, reports Efe.
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“We’ll be back out on track soon — just need to remove that pesky gravel,” Mclaren said on its official Twitter page, along with a photo of the 36-year-old driver.
Alonso had been off to a promising start before the crash, completing six laps with a fastest time of one minute and 24.202 seconds.
Later, the cause of the crash was reportedly attributed to a wheel-nut problem by McLaren’s Executive Director Zak Brown during a press conference.
