While it was initially thought that Fernando Alonso's decision not to run in Q2 was down to the Spaniard not feeling he could not improve on 15th, the two-time world champion soon put the record straight, revealing that he had suffered an engine failure.

In fact it was an MGU-H failure, Honda's third of the weekend, and the Japanese manufacturer is perplexed by the problem.

"It became a very disappointing day in the end today," admitted Yusuke Hasegawa. "During FP3 we were able to complete our practice programme as planned to find suitable qualifying and race settings. Unfortunately in qualifying we had to end Fernando's Q2 session prematurely after detecting an MGU-H issue.

"We are still investigating to find out exactly what the issue is and whether or not it's related to Stoffel's issues yesterday," he admitted, the Belgian having suffered two failures on Friday.

Hasegawa also confirmed that the MGU-Hs are 'dead' which means they cannot be used again. Indeed, it is understood the failures, thought to be bearing related, caused extensive damage to the internal combustion engines meaning that they too cannot be repaired.

With three failures thus far, it is anticipated that Alonso and Vandoorne will suffer further issues during today's race.

Indeed, Alonso, who is heading to Indianapolis next month in a bid to put the McLaren-Honda F1 nightmare behind him, revealed his continuing frustration when asked about the driveability of the engine.

"There's no talking about drivability if we cannot complete a lap or do the qualifying," he snapped. "I don't really care too much about drivability if I cannot finish a race so far this year or finish the qualifying now.

"It's hurting," he admitted. "We had the possibility to be a couple of places better and now we have to fit a new power unit tomorrow without the perfect settings and no warm-up or laps to set the engine, so we will probably have a difficult race."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 18/04/2017 9:17

"@F One
I don't think McLaren's chassis is particularly "rubbish".
Alonso has managed to run (when running!) mid-field despite being seriously underpowered, making-up time in the twiddly bits."

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2. Posted by edllorca, 17/04/2017 0:07

"We are not perplexed, neither are we surprised. This is par for the course."

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3. Posted by F One, 16/04/2017 16:15

"I think Honda will benefit massively if Sauber join them next season. Then they'll find out if the McLaren chassis is as rubbish as many people think that it is."

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4. Posted by airman1, 16/04/2017 9:36

"This is a disaster for McLaren, much less for Honda. Yes Honda will have a chink in their armour, but c'mon, when was the last time anyone from general public seriously thought that commercial, general purpose vehicle engines, have anything in common. No it will not hurt Honda's sales, image yes, but it will be over soon. But for McLaren, unless there something miraculous happens, they are set to be in a world of hurt for some time to come. It is a shame really...it is one thing to be down on power, but this is just embarrassing. We all would like to see Macca comes back, fans or no fans, the F1 is simply not the same without McLaren in the title fight. Judging by the fate of Williams, I somehow do not see them going back to Mercedes, I would not be surprised if we see McLaren Renault in the near future."

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5. Posted by Ro, 16/04/2017 9:12

"I fear that this will be Honda's last year in F1. Just hasnt worked. Its a shame, because a few decades ago they were unbeatable."

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