Alonso confident of "something in the pocket" on F1 return

Fernando Alonso is confident there is "something in the pocket" with his Alpine after a Formula 1 return that has left him buzzing.

Alonso finished a lowly 15th following the low-fuel, soft-tyre runs in second practice for this weekend's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, just under a second off the pace set by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

But despite the position, Alonso was far from concerned as he continued to build upon the knowledge and experience gained from the recent pre-season test at the same venue.

“We are lucky we had the winter test in Bahrain so we had all the laps we wanted and all the information,” said the two-time champion.

“I am still working with the team in fine-tuning. It was different conditions to testing but I enjoyed every lap.

“We have something in the pocket to be honest because the balance is different to the test so we are working around the set-up. We have good ideas for tomorrow and I am confident we can do a good job.”

Alonso, who quit the sport at the end of 2018, is back preparing for an F1 grand prix again after competing in races including the World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Indy 500 and the Dakar Rally.

Despite the two-year hiatus, Alonso said: “It felt amazing to be back. You feel different from testing. Racing is racing and today I had that feeling. I enjoyed the two sessions so much.”

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