Alpine's Fernando Alonso says he was enjoying a "fun" return to racing on Sunday in Bahrain, until a brake issue forced him to throw in the towel on lap 32 of 56.
Alonso held his own among the top ten in the opening stages of the event at Sakhir before losing a few spots after the initial pitstop rotations.
The 39-year-old Spaniard enjoyed good scraps in the midfield with Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz but a case of overheating brakes apparently caused by a sandwich wrapper stuck in the Alpine's brake ducts put a halt to the two-time world champion's efforts.
For F1's famous returnee, it was quite literally a wrap!
"We had some brake issues at the end that stopped us seeing the chequered flag," said Alonso. "Apparently some debris came into the brake duct, which is a little bit unfortunate.
"But… I think the race was fun until that point. The start, the first couple of laps, some battles with my old colleagues and I did enjoy it.
"But obviously now you’re disappointed not to see the chequered flag."
Alpine's first race under its rebranded name was a pointless affair with Esteban Ocon seeing his hopes of a top ten finish squashed mid-race by a clumsy maneuver by Vettel.
Alonso insisted that only perfect execution will deliver points in the future given F1's fiercely competitive midfield.
"I think we still need to improve," he said. "I think it’s very close in the midfield; a couple of tenths changes a lot of positions, so we will have to fine-tune things and execute [well] to perfect every race.
"A small mistake can cost a lot of positions in qualifying and the race. So it’s going to be a very interesting season, I think, for you to watch."
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