Fernando Alonso will remain in hospital overnight so he can undergo observations after crashing during testing today.
The Spaniard crashed at turn three just before the end of the morning session in Barcelona, warranting a precautionary visit to hospital.
Upon arrival, Alonso underwent an MRI and CT scan to ensure that he was okay, with the team reporting at 4pm local time that he was uninjured and fine following the shunt.
However, he will remain in hospital overnight so he can be observed by medical staff, McLaren has now announced.
“We were unable to complete the day’s programme after Fernando suffered an accident at turn three just before lunchtime,” a statement read. “Although conscious, and able to speak with the circuit’s medical team, he was flown to a nearby hospital, where he was given CT and MRI scans as precautionary measures.
“He was uninjured, but will remain in hospital overnight.”
The team was due to run in the afternoon with Jenson Button behind the wheel of the MP4-30, but opted to curtail its running following the incident and the damage sustained by the car.
“Given the lack of remaining track time, and the lengthy and thorough procedures needed to check the car and power-unit after such an impact, the team decided that it was not worth hurrying the rebuilding of the car in order to resume testing before close of play,” McLaren confirmed.
“Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing,” racing director Eric Boullier said. “Fortunately, he’s fine, but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion.”
The team will return to Barcelona for the final pre-season test on Thursday, lasting for a further four days.
