Pirelli Media
Honda has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will receive a new power unit for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, following his sizeable accident at the season-opening race in Australia.
Alonso struck Haas' Esteban Gutierrez at Turn 3 and was pitched into a roll across the gravel, with his McLaren suffering substantial damage.
Honda had been optimistic of being able to salvage some parts but the manufacturer has now confirmed that Alonso's MP4-31 will be fitted with a brand new unit this weekend.
"We have recovered the power unit from Fernando’s car used in Melbourne," said Honda chief Yusuke Hasegawa.
"After initial investigations, we are massively disappointed that the ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] and most of the surrounding parts have been heavily damaged, as the impact from the accident was just too great.
"We will be replacing the complete power unit in Bahrain."
Alonso praised the work of the outfit in readying a new car following the accident.
"There’s also been a massive effort from the teams in Woking and Sakura, who have been flat-out manufacturing parts for this race to ensure we can get back up to speed after the chassis was damaged, and I’m hugely impressed with how quickly they’ve managed to turn it around," he said.
"We’re still pushing to bring upgrades to each race, so providing we can get everything to the car in time we’ll be aiming to get as much track time as possible with the new chassis from the start of free practice."
