Problems for Alonso at Daytona 24 Hours

Editor

Fernando Alonso and his United Autosports team find themselves 26 laps down with 10 hours of the Daytona 24 to go after a couple of major setbacks.

After starting the endurance race from P13 on the grid, Alonso – racing with Lando Norris and Phil Hanson is down in P20 after a puncture and brake issues prevented the three-man team from getting themselves into the frame for at least a podium finish.

“Unlucky situation with Phil, we had a puncture before I jump in the car. We lost four laps there with some damage on the car," Alonso said in a video posted on Instagram.

"But my stints were good. We had a little bit of pace now at night, the car felt much better. Then we had the safety car and managed to recover two laps. So we were in contention for the top five probably. We were P6 already.

"And we had now a brakes issue and we have to put the car in the garage. The mechanics are doing their best, we will hopefully go back to the track soon but obviously the positions are compromised, we are losing a lot of laps.

"So that’s a shame but we will try our best until the last lap and thanks for being here."

The race is going a lot better for Williams' Lance Stroll, however, whose Jackie Chan Racing team are up in the lofty heights of P5, three laps off the race lead.

He is currently fighting ex-Formula 1 drivers Paul Di Resta and Bruno Senna, who is part of the other United Autosports team in P4.