Alonso Chinese Grand Prix in Doubt

Alonso awaits Chinese news - Getty Images

Fernando Alonso has said his participation at this week’s Chinese Grand Prix remains in doubt.

The Spaniard, who sustained fractured ribs in his huge crash at the Australian Grand Prix in March, was sidelined for the last race in Bahrain after he failed an FIA medical test. Alonso will undergo further scans by the sport’s governing body on Thursday to determine whether he will be fit to race in Shanghai.

“It was disappointing to be told I couldn’t race in Bahrain, but I fully respected the decision of the FIA medical team,” said Alonso.

“While I hope I’ll be back in the cockpit on Friday, until I get the all-clear from the doctors to race – whenever that may be – we cannot assume anything, but I’m continuing to prepare for the race weekend as normal.”

Alonso has updated his fans on social media with his progress since Bahrain, posting pictures of himself in training and one of him using a bone-healing ultrasound system on his injured ribs. He was replaced in Bahrain by Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren’s reserve driver, who out-qualified Jenson Button before scoring the team’s first point of the season after he crossed the line in 10th.

Alonso continued: “Stoffel did a great job in Bahrain and although Jenson suffered reliability issues, it was positive to see that both cars ran quite strongly during the weekend.

“It was also interesting for me to see the race weekend unfold from a different perspective, which helped me to understand everything that goes into getting the cars on track and learn a lot about the different processes, although I’d still prefer to be racing.

“I’ve always enjoyed driving in China – I’ve won there twice before – and I hope we’ll be able to have some good battles on track and see more progress this weekend.”

Vandoorne is on standby to race again in Shanghai should Alonso be unable to return.

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Ecclestone Talks F1, V8's, Jagger and Drivers

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Bernie Ecclestone says Formula 1 is "cheating" its fans because the quality of the show is poor.

The 85-year-old F1 supremo likened the sport to a rock concert at which the band turned up but could not perform.

"We are not putting on a very good show," he said, in the build-up to Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Imagine if people turned up to watch the Rolling Stones and Mick (Jagger) couldn't sing and the others couldn't play their instruments."

In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio 5 live, Ecclestone also questioned the motives of the drivers in writing their open letter criticising the governance of F1

He refused to criticise the controversial new qualifying system that is still in place for Bahrain, despite the teams agreeing to drop it

Ecclestone also said the new turbo hybrid engines introduced in 2014 were a "disaster".

Last week, the drivers wrote an open letter saying the decision-making process in F1 is "obsolete and ill-structured".

Responding the following day, Ecclestone said he agreed with the drivers. But he told BBC Sport he thought the drivers were saying "probably what their teams had told them to say".

Alex Wurz, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, was not immediately available to respond to Ecclestone's claims. Ecclestone added the governance of F1 was "nothing to do with me".

On the issue of qualifying, Ecclestone blamed governing body the FIA for the new format, which was supposed to spice up race weekends.

It did the opposite at the season-opening race in Australia, prompting teams to call for a return to the 2015 system.

However, the move was blocked by FIA president Jean Todt.

Asked if the new qualifying system worked, Ecclestone said: "Depends how you looked at it. The whole idea is we were hoping one or two of the hot shoes would be in trouble in Q1 and Q2. It didn't happen."

He added the idea "wasn't mine at all" but the FIA's. However, he rejected calls for a return to the 2015 format because he felt that did not work well either.

There will be a meeting of team bosses on Sunday before the race in Bahrain to discuss the qualifying system again.

Ecclestone has said he would like to switch to a different system that either decides the grid by ballot or shuffles the order by adding "time ballast" to drivers' times based on either the result of the previous race or the championship order.

He also discussed the new fuel-efficient turbo hybrid engines, arguing he would prefer a return to the naturally aspirated V8s in use until 2013.

"I said this engine would be a disaster and was criticised for that," he said, claiming the lack of noise meant F1 had lost some of its appeal.

He also claimed only one engine manufacturer - Mercedes - managed to adapt well to the new engines, which meant competition had suffered.

Mercedes have dominated F1 since the new engine came in, winning both the drivers' and constructors championships for the past two years.

"Mercedes have done an incredible job with that power unit," he said. "It is unbelievable. but it is not F1."

Asked what F1 should be like, he said: "Like it used to be. I didn't find anything wrong with the V8s and neither did anyone else."

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Alonso Given All Clear After Crash

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Fernando Alonso has been given the all-clear by doctors after being involved in a frightening crash at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. The McLaren driver’s car flipped twice and crumbled to pieces before hitting a barrier at turn three of the Albert Park circuit on Sunday.

“I’m happy to be here, it was quite a scary crash,” Alonso told Network Ten. “Lucky to be here,” the Spaniard concluded.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso of Spain emerges from the wreck of his car after he collided with Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez of Mexico during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso of Spain emerges from the wreck of his car after he collided with Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez of Mexico during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. Photograph: Theo Karanikos/AP

Alonso clipped the rear of Esteban Gutierrez of Haas Racing at full speed while trying to pass Gutierrez around the outside on lap 17 of 57. The Spaniard somehow managed to walk away from the mangled wreckage and hoards of debris unharmed. Both he and Gutierrez were taken to the medical centre for assessment. The team later confirmed via Twitter he had been “formally okayed by the doctors”.

“I’m sure his marbles are rattled a little bit,” McLaren chief Ron Dennis told Sky Sports. Stewards will investigate the incident after the race. The accident triggered a red flag, bringing proceedings to a temporary halt before resuming at 4:55pm (AEDT).

Alonso missed the 2015 Australian Grand Prix following a crash during testing in Spain. He joined Gutierrez, Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull), Rio Haryanto (Manor) and Kimi Raikkonen in retiring from the season-opening.

Sunday’s spectacular smash happened at the same corner former driver, now commentator Martin Brundle flipped his Jordan-Peugeot on lap one of the first F1 race at Albert Park in 1996.

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