Update: In an exchange with an Aston Martin communications manager, the latter told Motor1 that Fernando Alonso's Valkyrie had not broken down. Alonso had in fact taken delivery of the car, driven it for a few minutes through the streets of the Principality of Monaco and then had it towed away.
The image of Fernando Alonso breaking down in Monaco, even though his Aston Martin Valkyrie has just been delivered to him, is sure to raise a smile. Last week, the Formula 1 driver (Aston Martin) posted several photos on his Instagram account of the delivery of his new Hypercar to a famous hotel in the Principality.
At the time, he declared that he was more than impatient to finally be able to drive this incredible creation.
"It's hard to put into words how much I've been looking forward to this day. Sitting behind the wheel of my very own Valkyrie, a car that I have worked closely on with the Q by Aston Martin team, is certainly a day to remember. The Valkyrie is truly an F1 car made for the road, with so much knowledge and technology drawn from all of Aston Martin's experience on the track, and I can't wait to be able to test it."
Unfortunately for the Spanish driver, the test was short-lived, as he was forced to park his car on the side of a Monaco road (not far from RM Motorsport).
The Hypercar, designed and developed at Gaydon in Great Britain, is not a car like the others, which makes it rather fragile from a mechanical point of view. Equipped with a 6.5-litre V12 hybrid powertrain developing some 1,155 PS, the beast is capable of sprinting from 0 to 62 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, but it can also be very temperamental.
More news from Fernando Alonso:
The two-time Formula 1 World Champion, who lives in Monaco, was therefore forced to call a tow truck to bring his Aston Martin back to his garage. However, one thing is certain: as a driver for Aston Martin in F1, he will have no trouble getting his new Hypercar back into shape.