McLaren made explicitly clear that it was Alonso’s decision to act on the advice of his doctors. “Fernando’s doctors acknowledge that he feels fit and well, and that he regards himself as ready to race,” the team said.
“That being the case, they are comfortable with the fact that he has already recommenced physical training, with a view to preparing for a return to the cockpit for the Malaysian Grand Prix. All at McLaren-Honda fully support Fernando’s decision in respect of his doctors’ advice.”
Aki Hintsa, McLaren’s team doctor, is understood to have been involved as part of Alonso’s medical team throughout.
It is difficult to understate the scale of the blow to McLaren and returning engine supplier Honda after a disastrous pre-season which has seen their 2015 challenger well off the pace, struggling to get out of the garage. Jenson Button managed more than 100 laps just once in a session, and the car did not go an entire day all winter without breaking down.
Tuesday’s announcement prompted the usual conspiracy theories on social media, but the most facetious might be wondering why an earth Alonso would want to drive this car in the first place, injuries aside.
Alonso’s lucrative signing from Ferrari was seen as the springboard to return McLaren to the front, one of the first pieces of good news to come out of their factory in Woking for months. Honda, returning to try and rekindle the magic of their partnership in the late 1980s, with Ayrton Senna at the wheel, were desperate for a star driver and this news will make their first race back in Formula One something of a damp squib.
While some of the speculation which has engulfed this story has been spurious, McLaren, and specifically Ron Dennis, have hardly covered themselves in glory by so resoundingly stating that they saw no reason why Alonso should not be fit for Melbourne.
In a press conference called to quell rumours of Alonso’s condition, Dennis last Thursday: “I’m not a doctor, but I can’t foresee any reason why not [Alonso would not race in Australia].
“There is a process of tests laid down by the FIA and I can’t see any reason why he won’t sail through it.”
“He is physically perfect,” Dennis added. “There is no concussion, anything. He had the symptoms at one stage but nothing that shows (on scans).”
Dennis also stated that Alonso’s team-mate, Jenson Button, said he thought the accident was “strange” having looked at the telemetry of the crash, but Button himself declined to comment at the weekend.
McLaren have subsequently reconfirmed Alonso’s concussion after he crashed into a wall at the Circuit de Catalunya in the second pre-season test. Alonso lost consciousness for a few seconds after the impact and has suffered memory loss of the accident.
The 33-year-old then spent three nights in hospital, before travelling to his home in Oviedo, northern Spain, to recover. He posted a message on YouTube last week confirming he was “completely fine” as well as thanking his fans for their support.
Gary Hartstein, the former Formula One doctor, has already cast doubt on McLaren’s statements on Alonso’s condition, particularly Dennis’s assertion that there had been no concussion.
McLaren added: “Fernando’s doctors have recommended to him that, following the concussion he sustained in a testing accident, for the time being he should seek to limit as far as is possible any environmental risk factors that could potentially result in him sustaining another concussion so soon after his previous one, so as to minimise the chances of second impact syndrome.”