By Michele Lostia and Jonathan Noble Tuesday, April 17th 2007, 14:18 GMT
World champion Fernando Alonso believes that his loss of form in the Bahrain Grand Prix could have been the result of damage caused to his car when a lighting pod fell on it on Friday night.
Alonso's front wing had to be replaced on Saturday after the overhead lighting pod detached itself from the ceiling in the team's garage in the early hours of the morning. It subsequently crashed down on his car.
Although McLaren played down the matter at Sakhir, Alonso has now suggested that the incident may have played a part in the handling problems he suffered in qualifying and the race.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Alonso said: "Maybe a mistake was made while re-assembling the car after that mishap. The fact is the car had a strange behaviour from then on.
"It was as though there was no difference in grip between the hard or medium tyres. If I had raced on intermediates it would have been the same."
