McLaren confirm Fernando Alonso suffered ‘temporary memory loss’ following his pre-season winter testing shunt in Spain.
The team were forced to comment following Spanish newspaper Le Pais’s claims that Fernando Alonso woke up from his testing crash losing 20 years of memories.
The two-time Formula One World Champion was knocked unconscious following the crash on February 22nd, which is currently under investigation by the FIA.
According to the Spanish media he was asked by doctors following his concussion, who he was, what did he do and what did he want to do in the future. Which he responded by saying: ‘I’m Fernando, I’m in karts and want to become Formula 1 driver,’
McLaren team boss Eric Boullier told Sky Sports: ‘It was just a normal concussion [with] a loss of temporary memory, It’s not as dramatic as you read in the media. Everything is back to normal.’
Boullier refused to comment further insisting that it was down to Fernando Alonso and his doctors to decide what further information should or should not be released to the public: ‘It’s a private matter, It’s up to Fernando and his doctors to decide what they want to say.’
Following medical advice Alonso has now withdrawn from the opening round of the 2015 Formula One World Championship.
Medical advice suggested it was best to be cautious ?to minimise the chances of second impact syndrome, as is normal medical procedure when treating athletes after concussions?.
The 33-year-old is permitted to continue training and is hopeful of a return at the end of March for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
McLaren Honda have replaced Alonso with Kevin Magnussen, who has had one day behind the wheel of the new 2015 car when he replaced Alonso during the final winter test session.
Boullier added: ‘He’s very frustrated not to be in the car but he will be connected to us through all the debriefs by video link, When you have a concussion, you have to respect a 21-day recovery period. The doctors have given us their advice and a strong recommendation which we are following.’
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