Alonso to race in Malaysia GP

SEPANG, Malaysia — Fernando Alonso passed a final medical examination on Thursday and will be able to participate in the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend after the Spaniard missed the Formula One season-opener in Australia due to concussion.

The double world champion was sidelined following a winter-testing crash in Barcelona last month after leaving Ferarri for McLaren at the end of last season, but has been given the go-ahead to race for a team where he spent one unhappy season in 2007.

Alonso flew to Malaysia after coming through tests by three eminent doctors at Cambridge University on Sunday and then passed the official examination by the governing body’s medical delegate and the Sepang Circuit’s chief medical officer.

“During the examination the driver passed all mandatory fitness tests and has thus been declared fit to race in this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix,” the International Automobile Federation said in a statement.

Considered one of the most skilful drivers in Formula One, Alonso will need to be at his very best around the Hermann Tilke-designed track to have any chance of picking up points on his return to racing for a team that fared poorly in Australia.

Struggling for pace and reliability with the new Honda engine, team mate Jenson Button crawled around Albert Park to cross the line last of the 11 finishers, while Alonso’s stand-in Kevin Magnussen failed to start the race due to engine issues.

“I’ve been working hard on my fitness and I feel good and ready to go this weekend,” Alonso said prior to his departure for Malaysia.

“The weekend will be tough but I’m looking forward to getting into the MP4-30 for the first time in a Grand Prix and getting back to racing.

“It’s clear we have a lot of work ahead of us but Jenson’s result in Melbourne was encouraging from the point of view of reliability and data collection, which are extremely important.”

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas has also been cleared to race in Malaysia after the Finn missed the Australian opener because of a back injury.

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul posted a picture of a pair of boxing gloves on Twitter as he packed for Sunday’s “round two” of the Formula One season in Malaysia and he may need them.

‘Undrivable’

The French manufacturer and former world champions Red Bull have been increasingly uneasy partners since the introduction last year of the V6 turbo hybrid power units.

Mercedes, dominant last year, romped to another one-two in the Australian opener on March 15 and Red Bull’s patience is running low.

The tensions had been ratcheted up already before Melbourne when Red Bull designer Adrian Newey suggested there was “no obvious light at the end of the tunnel and all sorts of failings with the engine”.

“It’s one thing where you’re not competitive but you can see your way out of it,” he told the Daily Mail, before a race that saw Red Bull’s Russian Daniil Kvyat fail to start when his gearbox failed on the way to the grid.

“It’s another when you’re not competitive and your partner doesn’t seem to be willing to deal with you.”

His team principal Christian Horner said in Australia that the engine was “undriveable” and accused Renault of making “a retrograde step”.

“They’re obviously in a bit of a mess at the moment,” he added.

Abiteboul hit back this week, telling France’s Auto Hebdo magazine that Newey was charming and brilliant but had spent a lifetime criticising engine partners and was too old to change his ways.

In a Renault preview of Sunday’s race at Sepang, Abiteboul recognised Renault had fallen short but called for teamwork.

“We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the Power Unit and the chassis,” said the Frenchman, who will appear with Horner in what should be a lively Friday news conference.

“Our figures have shown that the lap time deficit between Red Bull and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between driveability issues, engine performance and chassis performance.

“It’s therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have been working with the team to move forward.”

Remi Taffin, Renault’s director of operations, said Malaysia should be more of a benchmark and offered a chance to “press the restart button”.

“Our design development group has been working non-stop to create counter-measures to improve driveability and reliability and correct the issues we saw in Melbourne,” he added.