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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Alonso Plans for 2016 F1

Fernando Alonso, a two-times Formula One world champion, insists he will be on the grid for the 2016 curtain-raiser in Australia.

The McLaren chairman, Ron Dennis, claimed at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi that Alonso, who has two years to run on his deal with the British team, may consider taking next year off from the sport.

But Alonso, speaking from Wembley Stadium, dismissed suggestions of a sabbatical. Asked if he will be in Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the 34-year-old said: “Yes. I talked to Ron on Friday. I told him what had been published. He said, ‘I didn’t mean that and tomorrow I will clarify it.’ On Saturday he clarified but no one copied that.

“I said the opposite on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and I’m sure in January and February I will keep answering the same questions about my future.”

Alonso has just finished his worst season in Formula One following his move from Ferrari to rejoin McLaren. The Spaniard retired from eight races – the most since his opening season in the sport with Minardi – and scored a paltry 11 points.

Alonso, who won the first of his successive titles with Renault a decade ago, said motivation will play a key role in whether he extends his grand prix career beyond 2017.

“We have to be open to any possibility,” said Alonso. “Right now it is too long ahead to think. Let’s see what happens in one and a half years, what the situation is, what targets we have met and what the motivations are to keep going on in Formula One.”

McLaren’s disastrous season may drive unsentimental Honda out of F1

Jenson Button, who became the first team-mate to finish a season with more points than Alonso, says his partnership with the Spaniard will help drive McLaren forward.

“He is a good team-mate to have,” Button said. “He is experienced like me. The feedback is good and the team really listen to us.

“If we were two young drivers, the team would be developing the car in a certain direction but because of our experience they listen to us and we help develop the car.

“It is the perfect situation for the team having us two in there and we enjoy being part of the development progress.”

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Magussen to Leave McLaren

Reserve driver Kevin Magnussen will leave McLaren at the end of the 2015 season after two years with the team.

New GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne is expected to take on the role of reserve to Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso for 2016.

Speaking on Twitter, Magnussen said: "I want to say thank you to my friends at @McLarenF1. There are a lot of great people there. #GoodLuckGuys

In an interview with motorsport.com, Magnussen confirmed he received the news of his exit on his birthday.

"When the date of McLaren's option on me passed, I was kind of waiting to hear from them," he said

"I didn't hear anything for a few days, and then, after about a week, when I saw an email from Ron's [Dennis, McLaren chairman] personal assistant Justine [Bowen] in my inbox, I had an idea of what it might be.

"It was a short paragraph explaining that there would be nothing for me in the future. It arrived on my birthday, actually."

In a statement, Dennis said: "Kevin has always done a very impressive and professional job for McLaren in the five years since he joined our Young Driver Programme in 2010.

"In 2014 he raced very well alongside Jenson, who is a hugely experienced and very quick World Champion. Kevin's Grand Prix debut in Melbourne last year was rewarded with a podium that day that he, and we, can be justifiably proud of."

Button gave an interview to Danish newspaper BT earlier this week, in which he stated his belief that Magnussen could be a success in Formula 1.

He said: "The Kevin I saw at the start of 2014 was a very different guy from the one I saw towards the end of our campaign together.

"He learned so much over the 12 months we spent working together, and he often pushed me to my limits, and even over my limits on many occasions.

"I don't know whether or not he's got a chance of bagging any of the remaining vacant Formula 1 seats, but he's clearly the best driver available, and I'd therefore very much recommend him to any team that has a vacancy.

"He's good enough not only to race in Formula 1, but also to help a team succeed in Formula 1."

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McLaren Wary About Spa

McClaren and Honda have warned against expecting any big performance jumps from them at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, with more grid penalties expected as they prepare to introduce a revised engine.

On the back of a morale-boosting two-car points finish in Hungary, Honda have been using the summer break to work on a new specification power unit and have placed particular emphasis on improving the internal combustion engine (ICE) via the spending of an as yet unspecified number of development 'tokens'.

Yasuhisa Arai, the Japanese manufacturer's motorsport chief, says F1's return to action at Spa will therefore be a key test of their work, but he is still expecting a challenging weekend.

"As we planned, Honda has updated our combustion characteristics to further improve our power units for Spa and the second half of the season," Arai said.

"This weekend's free practices will be important to test the pairing of the power units to the cars. The Belgian race, however, will surely be a difficult one for the team and drivers, with expected grid penalties and a long and unforgiving power circuit."

Having already exceeded their penalty-free allocation of engines for the season - which was retrospectively increased to five last month - McLaren's drivers will pick up further grid demotions any time they run fresh ICEs between now and the end of the season.

Team boss Eric Boullier insists the Woking outfit are "refreshed and determined to continue improving our form", but is also aware that high-speed Spa and Monza, the next two tracks on the calendar, are not likely to suit the MP4-30.

"Spa is a truly spectacular circuit - arguably the best on the calendar for many - but, given the unique power and downforce package required, the track won't play to our strengths," the Frenchman said.

"Therefore, of course, we must be measured in our optimism, and we will need to wait for Singapore and beyond before we can see the fruits of our labours reflected on track."

With 70 per cent of the undulating Spa circuit spent at full throttle, Fernando Alonso is expecting a "tricky" few days, but has stressed the importance of the race weekend to McLaren.

"The next few races will be important for us: we need to continue our forward momentum, and, with the addition of some tweaks to the car and power unit, we will be looking for more progress and good correlation between the simulator and our on-track performance," the Spaniard said.

"That might not necessarily appear above the surface in either Spa or Monza, but we'll keep pushing development forward at each race."

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