ESPN.com · Mar 9, 2018
Late Fernando Alonso lap boosts McLaren after troubled week
MONTMELO, Spain -- Despite a challenging two weeks of pre-season littered with reliability gremlins, Fernando Alonso and McLaren head to the Australian Grand Prix in a defiant mood.
McLaren's frustrating pre-season continued on Friday as Alonso stopped early in the morning after an oil leak caused a turbo failure in his car. That issue prompted an engine change, although the Spaniard returned in the afternoon to complete 93 laps, including a late hyper-soft tyre run to second position, albeit 0.5s behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Alonso was in a buoyant mood on Friday evening, posting the following message to Instagram that there was still plenty to "squeeze" from his orange McLaren.