Oviedo, Asturias - Fernando Alonso “woke up in 1995” after his crash in testing at Catalunya, according to reports in Spain.
The extent of the former double world champion’s memory loss has been revealed in El Pais, a daily newspaper close to Alonso and his management. It reported that when asked who he was, Alonso replied: “I’m Fernando, I drive go-karts and I want to be a Formula One driver.”
In 1995, Alonso was a 13-year-old pupil at Holy Guardian Angel school in his home town of Oviedo. When doctors pressed him further Alonso, 33, could not remember his debut with Minardi in 2001 or his world championships for Renault in 2005 and 2006.
The reports in Spain came 48 hours after concerns surfaced that Alonso may have an underlying condition that caused him to crash on 22 February, which would throw his future career into doubt.
Despite MRI and CT scans during three nights in hospital in Barcelona and further tests in Oviedo on Monday, there are no assurances from his doctors, management or McLaren team that he will return for the Malaysia Grand Prix on 29 March.
He has already been ruled out of the opening race in Melbourne on 15 March. The concussion he suffered in Barcelona means he cannot be exposed to a second knock to the head, which doctors fear could kill him, regardless of wider questions about his health.
A McLaren spokesman said: “As regards Fernando’s medical situation, McLaren will not and indeed should not take the lead, since his medical care is being handled by the people best equipped for that task, namely his doctors.
“So all we can say is that he is making good progress and that we hope and expect he will soon be back to his brilliant best.”
CONFUSION REIGNS
McLaren staff are not necessarily close to Alonso after he left the team in 2007 following a season of infighting, and may not even know their driver’s condition as well as some reporters in Spain.
Confusion has, therefore, surrounded the situation, not least after McLaren chairman Ron Dennis said that Alonso had not been concussed, a misunderstanding that was corrected by the team’s official statements.
David Coulthard, a former McLaren driver, said: “My experience of getting knocked out or having big shunts is that you remember the bit before, the bit after but not the bit in the middle. When you get knocked out it does not come with a warning; it just happens.
“The brain is a fairly complex bit of kit, so if they are not able to see any brain injury of any sort it seems a bit medically confusing for me, so there is probably more from the story to come out over time. It is unusual for drivers to miss a Grand Prix over such a thing.”
McLAREN STRUGGLING
Whatever the cause, Alonso’s predicament is a blow for McLaren, whose form in testing suggested it is struggling very badly indeed for reliability and speed.
The team signed him on a £28 million (R504 million) a year contract at the start of its new relationship with Honda, yet will replace him with Kevin Magnussen, its 22-year-old Danish reserve driver, at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Gary Hartstein, Formula One’s former chief doctor, has speculated that the most probable reason Alonso might have passed out would be arrhythmia - an irregular heartbeat. If so, he would require a pacemaker.
Another possibility, said Hartstein, would be carotid sinus hypersensitivity, whereby pressure on the main artery to the brain causes the heart rate to drop, blood pressure to fall and the sufferer to blackout.
Hartstein said this was “surprisingly common” and not totally unexpected at a fast corner in a Formula One car, such as Turn 3 at Barcelona, where Alonso was travelling at 215km/h.
But, then again, he was braking and changing gear as the accident happened, so how is this consistent with him passing out? The questions nag.
Alonso will need the FIA’s medical team to give him clearance to race in Malaysia, as well as the go-ahead from his own doctors.
He has been outwardly relaxed about missing the Melbourne race, saying from his father’s house in Oviedo, where he is recovering: “A second impact in less than 21 days - NO.”
Alonso may have been less sanguine if McLaren were quicker, but both team and man will be mightily relieved when he is back, even if it is towards the back of the grid for now.
Daily Mail