A suspected electrical problem halted his McLaren on the first day of practice for the new Formula One season in Bahrain.
The Indian ace's Jordan-Toyota E15 developed electrical problems and he was forced to retire in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen's engine caught fire on Friday, forcing him to replace the unit and start Sunday's race 10 places down from wherever he qualifies on Saturday.
Jarno Trulli was second for Toyota, while Michael Schumacher took third place in the new F2005 in the first qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso hopes to be racing for McLaren at this weekend's Chinese Formula One Grand Prix but the Spaniard says he is taking nothing for granted ahead of a fitness test at the Shanghai circuit. The double world champion fractured his ribs in a crash at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 20 and the governing FIA's medical team then ruled him out of the subsequent race in Bahrain. He will undergo more tests at the Chinese circuit on Thursday before the third round of the 21-race season. "It was disappointing to be told I couldn't race in Bahrain, but I fully respected the decision of the FIA medical team," he said on Tuesday in a team preview for the race. "While I hope I'll be back in the cockpit on Friday (for practice), until I get the all-clear from the doctors to race, whenever that may be, we cannot assume anything.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ending the stranglehold of previously dominant champions Mercedes. Vettel lapped the Sakhir Circuit in a best time of one minute 31.683 seconds, 0.040 faster than team mate Kimi Raikkonen on the supersoft tyres. It was the first time this season that any driver from outside the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton had ended practice on top. Hamilton was quickest in all three sessions in Australia two weeks ago while championship frontrunner Rosberg led his team mate in Bahrain practices one and two on Friday. Rosberg was third fastest in practice three, his time of 1:32.104 slower than Friday when he did 1:31.001, with Hamilton fourth.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas took his first Formula One pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday with a sizzling lap that ended Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh in a row.
The 2019 Formula One world championship starts on March 17 with 21 races in a season that ends later than any since 1963.
Aggrieved McLaren boss Ron Dennis says Formula One teams must decide whether a driver is fit to race, rather than the governing body's doctors, after Fernando Alonso was barred from the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday in the German's 200th race start.
McLaren's Fernando Alonso has been ruled out of Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on medical grounds following his huge crash in the Australian season-opener on March 20. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the decision had been taken after a medical examination at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday. "Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds," the statement said.
Jackie Stewart, Britain's only triple Formula One world champion, knows his record is on borrowed time after Lewis Hamilton's storming victory in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton continued his season's sweep of qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Formula One teams and stakeholders failed to agree a fix for the sport's failed new qualifying format at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday and agreed instead to go away and consider a compromise by next Thursday.
Formula One champions Mercedes can rack up their eighth successive victory on Sunday but even if they do, a winning streak must end for either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg in Bahrain. Rosberg is chasing his fifth win in a row after starting the season triumphantly in Australia to follow the three victories he racked up at the end of 2015. Hamilton, the triple world champion who finds himself behind his German team mate in the standings for the first time since 2014, is on for a hat-trick after winning in Bahrain for the past two years. The Briton is the favourite at a circuit that has yet to witness a Rosberg victory but Ferrari, who roared into the lead at the start in Melbourne with Sebastian Vettel followed by Kimi Raikkonen, also fancy their chances.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Red Bull's pre-season problems showed little sign of easing in Bahrain testing on Wednesday with four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel managing only 14 laps on the first day.
Conor McGregor said on Tuesday he was retiring from the sport, five months after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a controversial title fight
It's a bold marketing move for the locally-produced light combat aircraft.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg put Mercedes on pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday and ended team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a hat-trick.
Brazilian Felipe Massa put Williams on top on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Saturday while Red Bull's quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a lap.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Swaraj is in Bahrain for a two-day visit to attend the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum to be held on Sunday.
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene welcomed back the Kimi Raikkonen of old on Sunday.
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