Fernando Alonso cleared to travel to Malaysia Grand Prix
McLaren driver's return now a "formality" after he passes medical tests
Monday 23 March 2015 16:31, UK
Fernando Alonso has been given the green light to travel to the Malaysia Grand Prix after passing medical tests.
The McLaren driver suffered concussion in a crash during pre-season testing and was forced to miss the opening Australian Grand Prix as former team-mate Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in Melbourne.
However, Alonso underwent tests in Cambridge on Sunday to check his short and long-term memory along with his reflexes and is now expected to be passed fit to return to the track.
The Spaniard must still satisfy FIA by passing a further two tests at the Sepang circuit on Thursday but his manager Luis Garcia Abad says it is a “formality”.
McLaren, who have not won a race since 2012, were woefully off the pace in Australia with Jenson Button finishing last in 11th place after he and Danish team-mate Kevin Magnussen qualified on the back row.
Alonso is returning to McLaren, the team he drove for in 2007, after five years at Ferrari and at the start of a new Honda-powered era for the former champions.
The 33-year-old suffered temporary memory loss in his crash, with some reports suggesting he had forgotten in the immediate aftermath that he was an F1 driver and could not initially remember anything after 1995.
However, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier played that down at the time, saying that Alonso - who spent three nights in hospital - had suffered "a normal concussion" and everything was back to normal.
Sky Sports F1 will show every session from the Malaysia Grand Prix weekend live and available on the move with SkyGo. The race starts at 8am on Sunday March 29, with comprehensive build-up underway from 6:30am.
