Fernando Alonso on his bike (photo by reporter El Larguero on Twitter)
TWICE-WORLD champion racing driver Fernando Alonso has been discharged from hospital after a serious cycling accident, and has been caught on camera walking off the premises unaided and apparently in an excellent state of health.
The Formula 1 legend was out exercising on his bicycle on Thursday near his home in Lugano, Switzerland, just a month before pre-season training was due to start in Bahrein ahead of his eagerly-awaited return to the sharp end of the sport, which he took a break from in 2019 following long years of disappointing results and uncompetitive cars.
Local reports say a 42-year-old man pulling out of a supermarket in his car took a wrong turning and collided with Alonso, who was rushed straight to hospital.
X-rays showed multiple fractures in his jaw and several broken teeth, but he was described as 'out of danger' and transferred to the capital, Bern, the next day, to be treated by a leading craniofacial specialist.
Spain's fourth channel, La Cuatro, filmed him leaving hospital today (Monday) on foot, although his injuries were not visible due to his mask.
As at Thursday when news broke of Alonso's emergency admission to hospital, it was believed he would end up missing the 2021 season after all – but latest reports claim he will be going ahead with the pre-season tests and will be racing with team Alpine Rénault as planned in Bahrein on March 28.
He will need to adapt to a new helmet and fine-tune his new car, which he will only get to test-drive three times before the race.
When Alonso gets back onto the grid, he will double the existing Spanish population in Formula 1: At present, the country's only representative is Carlos Sainz Junior, son of a three-times Dakar Rally winner of the same name, who will be facing his own challenges this year as a 'small fish' in his new scuderia, Ferrari.
