The weekend had hardly begun before Fernando Alonso and returnee Roberto Merhi were hit with grid penalties.

As expected, the Spaniard is penalised after being handed the latest spec engine by Honda.

However, what was anticipated to be a 10-place penalty is actually 25-places as he loses 10 positions for the 10th ICE, 5 for the 9th TC, 5 for the 9th MGU-H and 5 for the 7th CE.

Elsewhere, poor old Roberto Merhi, who handed his car over to Alexander Rossi for the Singapore and Japanese events, drops 20 positions, comprising 10 for the 5th ICE, 5 for the 5th TC and 5 for the 5th MGU-H.

Worryingly, Alonso, who is the only driver with the upgraded Honda engine this weekend, was told he had a problem and needed to pit in the closing stages of today's second session in which he was one of only eight drivers to post a time.

Check out our Friday gallery, here.

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