Fernando Alonso says he feels “good and ready to go” at Sepang International Circuit, with the Spaniard still having to pass final FIA medical checks to be allowed to race in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The double world champion has been sidelined since he suffered concussion in a crash at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the second pre-season test.
Having to pull out of the opening round in Melbourne, Alonso had then earmarked round two of this year’s championship to make his competitive return.
The 33-year-old was allowed to travel to Malaysia after receiving the green light from the University of Cambridge in the UK where he underwent a series of tests on Sunday. The McLaren returnee is confident he can overcome the last hurdle on his recovery bid and slot in behind the wheel of his MP4-30 this weekend.
“I’ve been working hard on my fitness and I feel good and ready to go this weekend,” said Alonso. “The heat in Malaysia is always very tough for the drivers but I’ve been focusing on this in my training and I’m definitely prepared for all of the weather conditions that we can face in Sepang.”
Although he is raring to compete, Alonso remains well aware of the scale of the challenge McLaren-Honda must take on after experiencing a difficult start to the season. Still, the double world champion vows to give everything in order to help the Woking-based team unlock its potential and bounce back.
“I watched the weekend in Australia very closely and I was in touch with the team from the moment they arrived. 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.
“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.
“I’ve spent some time in the simulator back at the factory with the team, and my focus will be on continuing the development of our package with my engineers, and working on our balance and race set-up.
“There’s a lot of potential in the car and we will keep pushing every race until we see results.”
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