'Zero worries' for Alonso ahead of Malaysian GP

McLaren driver places full trust in the team despite mystery crash

SEPANG: Fernando Alonso on Thursday blamed a mysterious steering lock-up for his crash in testing but insisted he had "zero worries" about his return to the track in Malaysia.

The two-time Formula One world champion revealed details about the February 22 accident for the first time after medics cleared him to drive this week at Sepang.

The McLaren driver denied blacking out before the accident in Barcelona, and also dismissed reports that he suffered amnesia so severe that he thought it was 1995.

But Alonso, who missed the season-opener in Australia to avoid risking a second concussion, also said exhaustive tests had failed to explain why his steering locked.

Alonso, who said he had temporary memory loss but blamed medication, insisted he had no concerns about his MP4-30 car, now fitted with new sensors to capture extra data.

"I fully trust the team. They've been looking at every single component of the car for a month... I think we have the safest car right now," said Alonso. "After one month probably I'm the most checked driver, medically, in history. So we should be fine."

The Spaniard gave a detailed account of the crash, into the inside of Barcelona's Turn 3, and said he only lost his memory when he was given medication afterwards.

"I went to the hospital in good condition. There is a time that I don't remember, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, something like that," he said. “I remember the accident and I remember everything that following day."

He admitted that McLaren were wrong when they tried to blame the crash on gusts of wind. "Even a hurricane will not move the car at that speed," he said.

Alonso admitted it could be years before the true reason for the crash is known, after the data recorded turned up nothing unusual.

"I'm sure we're missing something on the data acquisition which we'll spot in 10 years' time when the knowledge is available... I have zero doubts, zero concerns [about racing]," he said.

Meanwhile, Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was also passed fit at the Sepang circuit after missing the season's first race on March 15 with a lower back injury.

 

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.