Alonso admits "lack of confidence with rear end of the car" but happy with P9

During qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso made his highly anticipated return to an official Formula 1 session. Despite the Alpine F1 car seemingly struggling in practice, Alonso managed to get the car into Q3. 

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Alonso has set the tone in his teammate duel with Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman didn't escape from Q1 and will start Sunday's Grand Prix from 16th place. The two-time World Champion ensured that Alpine have something to cheer about, but admits he isn't entirely confident with the rear. 

"The weekend has been difficult. I lack confidence a little bit on the rear end of the car. Braking performance was also very different compared to the test," Alonso said in a conversation with Sky Sports. 

"The first qualifying of the year so you don't really know what to expect but I am happy with ninth. Definitely, I was hoping a lot for qualifying. The wind changing and the cooler conditions - I was hoping it would suit my driving style."