Sport

Fernando Alonso given all clear after crash in testing

McLaren driver will remain in hospital for 24 hours after incident in Barcelona as a precaution

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is transferred from the medical centre to the helicopter after crashing during day four of Formula One winter testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, Spain. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is transferred from the medical centre to the helicopter after crashing during day four of Formula One winter testing at Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, Spain. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Sun Feb 22 2015 - 18:17

Fernando Alonso has been given the all-clear after a heavy crash in testing in Barcelona but will remain in hospital for 24 hours as a precaution.

The 33-year-old’s McLaren-Honda left the Circuit de Catalunya track at Turn Three and hit the wall side on during the final day of the Formula One pre-season test.

Alonso was moved to the circuit’s medical facility by ambulance after the accident and later transferred to hospital by helicopter.

McLaren issued a statement saying the two-time world champion was conscious and had spoken to doctors, and racing director Eric Boullier was later able to give a positive update on Alonso’s condition.

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Boullier told Sky Sports: “He is very well. Obviously he had an accident at Turn Three and we just sent him to the medical centre to check and then decided, as per normal protocol, to send him here to the hospital for further checks.

“He had a CT scan and MRI scan and everything is fine. Just to be precautionary he will stay here for 24 hours.”

Boullier was not prepared to discuss the cause of the incident beyond describing it as a normal racing accident.

Prior to the crash, McLaren had endured a disappointing test session, with a faulty seal on the MGU-K — one of the energy recovery systems on the car — causing repeated problems.

The issue first surfaced on Thursday but a revised part fitted on Saturday did not resolve the problem and McLaren were forced to run with reduced power for the rest of the day.

Alonso’s team-mate Jenson Button had been due to take over in the afternoon but McLaren brought an early end to their testing having completed only 104 laps in four days.

Romain Grosjean was the fastest driver of the day, putting Lotus at the top of the standings for the third time during the test.

But Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg shrugged off an early spin to set the second fastest time despite using less favourable tyres.

There were four red flags during the afternoon session, with morning pace-setter Carlos Sainz Jr also crashing at Turn Three.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat set the third fastest time of the day with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr in fourth despite a late mechanical problem.