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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VW F1 Team Now Just Bull

The prospects of the Volkswagen Group entering Formula 1 could be scuppered by the news that Martin Winterkorn is to resign as its chief executive in the wake of the US car emissions scandal. 

Winterkorn was known to be the driving force behind a bid to convince Volkswagen board members to sign off a move into F1, a passage made clearer by former chairman Ferdinand Piech – who was against the proposal – exiting the firm earlier in the year. 

However, the revelation that the world's largest car maker manipulated US diesel car emissions tests to give more positive results has claimed its first victim in Winterkorn, who said the company needed a 'fresh start' to rebuild consumer confidence even if he insists he had no knowledge of the wrongdoing. 

The news is a swift and potentially decisive blow to the suggestion that VW could finally green light a move into F1 at least in the short-term, particularly as it says it will be setting aside £4.7 billion to cover costs of the scandal and has already had upwards of 40 billion euros wiped off its value on the stock market. 

News broke over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that VW was close to a deal to take over Red Bull Racing's F1 effort from 2018 and was set to construct its own power unit, only for the scale of the emissions scandal to emerge too. 

The BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan said last week the agreement would have seen VW buy the team and build its own engine, while Red Bull continues as a major sponsor.

Jordan says a VW engine would not enter F1 until 2018 and Red Bull would use Ferrari power in the interim. The team will split with current engine partner Renault after this season, ending their contract a year early.

"Red Bull and VW have been in on-and-off talks for more than a year and I understand that the fundamentals of a deal for the sale of the team have been agreed," said Jordan.

"An arrangement whereby VW would take it over, becoming the fourth major manufacturer in F1, and Red Bull would continue to enjoy the high profile that comes from a major sponsorship suits both parties."

It is not clear which of the VW Group's brands would be promoted in F1, although Audi is the favourite. 

The company also owns the Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley, Seat and Skoda marques.

Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz told his company's Speedweek website on Friday that his team's split from Renault was concluded "a few weeks ago".

He said using a Ferrari engine would be "a very acceptable solution for the next two or three years" but a contract with the Italian company was not finalised.

Any VW deal would represented a triumph for Martin Winterkorn, the chairman of the VW board of directors, in an internal power struggle.

Winterkorn had agreed the deal with Mateschitz and the drinks giant's motorsport adviser Helmut Marko.

VW and Red Bull have long-time links and are currently partners in the world rally championship and Dakar Rally.

BBC Sport reported that agreed a deal to buy out Red Bull last winter but the plan was vetoed by former VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech.

Piech was ousted in a boardroom power struggle and resigned in April.

In May Marko said: "If we don't have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has consistently denied that the team have held talks with the VW Group.

The German media is now reporting Porsche boss Matthias Mueller will be named as Winterkorn's replacement on Friday.

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Red Bull Confirm New Aussie Grit

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Red Bull have confirmed Daniel Ricciardo will drive for the team from the start of next season, replacing his fellow Australia Mark Webber.

Ricciardo, who currently drives for Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso, will link up with triple world champion Sebastian Vettel in the senior team in 2014.

"I feel very, very good at the moment and obviously there's a lot of excitement running through me," said Ricciardo.

"Since joining F1 in 2011 I hoped this would happen and, over time, the belief in me has grown. I had some good results and Red Bull has decided that this is it, so it's a good time.

"Next year I'll be with a Championship-winning team, arguably the best team, and will be expected to deliver. I'm ready for that.

"I'm not here to run around in tenth place, I want to get the best results for myself and the team. I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do.

"I know the team quite well already since being its reserve driver in 2010, which should make the transition easier. It will be a great challenge to be up against Sebastian Vettel, I'm looking forward to that."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner added: "It's fantastic to confirm Daniel as the team's race driver for 2014, he's a very talented youngster.

"He's committed, he's got a great attitude and, in the end, it was a very logical choice for us.

"He's got all the attributes that are required to drive for our team: he's got a great natural ability and he's a good personality and a great guy to work with.

"Daniel knows what the team expects from him. He'll learn quickly and it's very much a medium to long term view that we're taking in developing him. The seat within the team is a wonderful opportunity and I think he's going to be a big star of the future."

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Alonso Not Tempted to Move - Briatore

Fernando Alonso has "no temptation whatsoever" to try and engineer a shock move away from

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Ferrari to rivals Red Bull, Flavio Briatore, who heads the Spaniard's management team, has insisted.

The sport's rumour mill was sent into overdrive last Sunday at the Hungarian GP after Red Bull boss Christian Horner refused to deny that a meeting between himself and Alonso's representative, Luis Garcia Abad, had been about the chance of the Spaniard filling the vacancy that will be created by Mark Webber's retirement at the end of the season.

When the speculation was put to him directly, Alonso insisted he was "very happy" at Ferrari, where he has a deal that runs to the end of 2016, with the team themselves also making clear the 32-time grand prix winner is under contract.

Now Briatore, Alonso's former boss at Renault but who still heads the management company that represents the double World Champion, has told the Italian media that the Spaniard isn't angling for a move away from Maranello.

"Fernando has a contract and contracts must be respected," Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Alonso has never said he wants to leave. Ferrari-Alonso remains a winning pairing."

And asked whether the Spaniard was tempted to join Red Bull, Briatore replied: "No. No temptation whatsoever."

Nonetheless, despite the highly unlikely nature of any 2014 Red Bull switch, the state of Alonso's relationship with Ferrari has come under the spotlight after the team took the unprecedented step of making public a rebuke that was delivered to the 32-year-old by their President Luca di Montezemolo for negative comments made in the aftermath of the team's poor performance in Hungary.

Ferrari have since attempted to play down the nature of Montezemolo's criticisms - insisting they should be viewed as a "positive injection" - but Briatore has argued that what Alonso said was nothing out of the ordinary as he needed a quicker car to compete for the title.

"It's normal for a racing driver to desire a competitive car and the team must work hard to supply it. End of story," said Briatore.

"He needs to have at his disposal a car that allows him to start from the top two rows.

"We knew it would be tough in Hungary, as it was when I was at Renault. They need to quickly find the instruction manual at Maranello."

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• Daily #F1 News and Comment: Wednesday 31st July 2013