Alonso baffled by Vandoorne early grid penalty

Fernando Alonso says it is "incredible' that team mate Stoffel Vandoorne is already serving a grid penalty following another Honda engine failure.

The start of Vandoorne's maiden Formula 1 season with Mclaren-Honda has been swarmed with power unit troubles with the Belgian even prevented from taking part in the Bahrain Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Another MGU-K failure on Vandoorne's MCL32 forced a complete power unit replacement which entailed a fifth component use this year, triggering a 15-place grid penalty, to Alonso's completed amazement.

"It's incredible that you have to be penalised in the fourth race," said Alonso.

"I'm sorry for him because he's a super driver and a super talent, and he's having a difficult start in Formula 1.

"Let's hope he's lucky and we can both be close to the points."

Vandoorne hit with 15-place grid penalty!

While hoping for the best, Alonso, who has yet to finish a race, is expecting more of the worse however.

"We've had a lot of retirements in these races and having these problems in practice doesn't make you feel very confident?" he said.

"But the car is exactly the same it was in Bahrain, so if we had problems in the first three races we'll still have them here and we'll still have them in Barcelona, in Monaco, etc..."

The Spaniard revealed that aero updates are on their way at McLaren but he isn't expecting any engine updates from Honda until the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

"Time-wise realistically it's hard that we'll have anything from Honda. From McLaren we'll have aero updates and I think in Spain the car will be more competitive in terms of chassis.

"And in Canada let's hope we have something from Honda so we can fight more seriously."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.