That's a wrap.
Fernando Alonso is back for another spell behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, with the two-time world champ taking laps with Alpine (formerly Renault) in 2021 for his third spell with the team. His first race back on an F1 circuit was foiled, though, with brake failure causing a DNF this past Sunday.
LAP 34/56 - ALO OUT
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2021
Frustration for Fernando Alonso in his first Grand Prix back in F1
He's out of the race after reporting brake issues 😬#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/wTUPrO8sZI
MORE: Full 2021 F1 schedule
While brake failure can be a semi-common occurrence for F1 cars, the reason behind the failure was truly one of a kind: a sandwich wrapper got caught in Alonso's brake system, forcing the retirement, per Alpine exec Martin Budkowski. From ESPN:
"After his first stop we had a small issue that forced us to reduce the performance of the car, then after the second stop, a sandwich wrap paper got stuck inside the rear brake duct of Fernando's car, which led to high temperatures and caused some damage to the brake system, so we retired him for safety reasons.
"It was a very unlucky first race for Fernando considering how strong he looked."
Alonso's teammate Esteban Ocon finished 13th, so Alonso had a decent shot to finish in the points had he ended the race strong. He also qualified ninth for the start, so it was a strong and unlucky re-debut for Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton took home the checkered flag after a thrilling duel between he and Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the closing laps of the race.
While F1 tracks are meticulously cleared of debris before, after and during the race, maybe someone needs to be careful with their lunch next go 'round.
