Alonso: Not perfect but very helpful

Despite sitting out most of the morning session, Fernando Alonso insists his running at Barcelona on Thursday was "very helpful."

The double World Champion was in action on the opening day at the Spanish circuit but soon found himself confined to the pits when an electrical problem caused his F10 to stop out on track after just 11 laps.

Ferrari, though, were able to fix the problem and Alonso returned to action, completing a further 63 laps before the close of the play, setting a best time of 1:24.170.

And although Alonso's time was over 3.5s slower than the P1 time set by Mark Webber, the Spaniard insists it was a good day for Ferrari.

"It wasn't a perfect day, but it was very helpful nevertheless," Alonso told the official Ferrari website.

"We had several new things in the car and we collected some data to see how they work. Now we've got to understand how to exploit them.

"The track wasn't great. A little dirty and wind. It's always interesting to drive on a circuit, where you'll also have a grand prix, because you start seeing some aspects you'll have to deal with later on.

"All in all I'd say it was a good day."

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