With the Formula One new season just starting, a report in in the Spanish daily newspaper, El Pais has come to shed more light on Fernando Alonso’s pre-season crash in the Barcelona track.
So, according to the report, the F1 driver woke up having no memory of the past 20 years of his life, thinking that it was the year 1995! The two-time Formula One champion is quoted as saying to the doctors: ‘I’m Fernando, I drive go-karts and I want to be a Formula One driver.’
33-year-old, Fernando Alonso was taken to the hospital in February during the pre-season testings, after crashing into a wall at the ‘Circuit de Catalunya‘ in Barcelona. As BBC reported back then, the driver was ‘briefly unconscious when rescue crews reached him and was in a confused state when he later woke up in the hospital.’ McLaren chairman, Ron Dennis, also confirmed these reports stating that ‘Alonso suffered retrograde amnesia after the crash.’, which is said to be very common in patients who have experienced a severe concussion.
Although, Alonso has since been released from the hospital, he was not rendered ready to participate in the first race of the season and he missed the opening Australian Grand Prix. However, the Spanish driver is recovering well and is expected to take part in the next race in Malaysia, which will take place on March 29.
Sources: The Huffington Post, BBC, El Pais