Fernando Alonso has sustained a jaw fracture in a cycling accident just weeks before he returns to Formula One with Alpine.
Alonso suffered a road accident whilst out cycling in Switzerland as part of his pre-season training after colliding with a car turning into a supermarket car park, with Alpine on Thursday evening (12 February) confirming in a statement that the Spaniard was ‘conscious and well in himself’ subject to a further medical examination.
In a further update on Friday morning (13 February), Alpine announced that Alonso had suffered ‘a fracture in his upper jaw’, which has been operated on successfully, with the medical team ‘satisfied with his progress.’
Alpine have also confirmed that Alonso will remain in hospital under observation until Sunday at the earliest, before requiring ‘complete rest’ upon his release for a few days.
Once he has fully rested and followed advice from his medical team, Alonso will be allowed to ‘progressively resume training’ ahead of the new season, with Alpine expecting him to be ‘fully operational’ in time for the new season.
Pre-season testing will take place from 12-14 March 2021 in Sakhir, Bahrain, with the first race weekend of a 23 race calendar set to be just two weeks later at the same circuit from 26-28 March in which Alonso is set to make his F1 comeback after a two-season absence from the sport.
Alpine concluded their latest update by thanking fans, drivers, rival teams and other motorsport categories like MotoGP and Formula E on behalf of Alonso for well wishes, whilst iterating that further updates will be released when deemed appropriate to do so.
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