Fernando Alonso to miss Bahrain Grand Prix

Omnisports

March 20, 2016 7:34 AM

Stoffel Vandoorne will replace Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix after the McLaren man failed to recover from his Australia crash.

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Fernando Alonso will not race at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix after failing to get medical clearance following his huge crash at Formula One's season opener in Australia.

The McLaren driver collided with Haas' Esteban Gutierrez going into turn three at Melbourne and slammed into the wall before flipping several times, causing the race to be red flagged.

Alonso emerged unscathed from the incident and was labelled "the luckiest man alive" by Australian media.

The Spaniard had hoped to return in Bahrain this weekend, but failed to get medical clearance from FIA doctors on Thursday.

An FIA statement read: "Following an examination undertaken this morning at the Bahrain International Circuit Medical Centre, it has been decided that McLaren Honda F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso should not take part in this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds.

"A repeat chest scan has been requested before the Chinese Grand Prix and the results will be considered before allowing him to race there."

McLaren subsequently confirmed that reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will deputise in place of Alonso following the FIA doctors' decision.

The team added on Twitter: "Following any on-track incident, we will always abide by the @FIA doctors' decision."

Vandoorne will be in Bahrain on Friday ahead of practice.

It is the second medical scare in as many seasons for Alonso, who missed the Australian curtain-raiser in 2015 after a crash in pre-season testing.

Alonso lost control of his car travelling at high speeds at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and suffered two blows to his head after hitting a wall.

He spent time in hospital as a result of the accident and was reported to have suffered temporary memory loss as a result of the crash.

Omnisports

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