Lara Alvarez
IN PHOTO: Journalist and television presenter Lara Alvarez, girlfriend of F1 driver Fernando Alonso, smiles as she leaves the hospital with Alonso (not in picture) where he was hospitalized since Sunday in Sant Cugat after crashing during a test session February 25, 2015. McLaren have blamed gusting winds for Alonso's Formula One testing crash on Sunday and dismissed 'erroneous rumours' that an electrical fault could have rendered the driver unconscious before the impact. REUTERS/Albert Gea REUTERS/Albert Gea

When Spanish journalist Lara Alvarez, the girlfriend of McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso, first learned that her boyfriend was involved in a high-speed crash during pre-season testing in Barcelona that happened more than a month ago, she felt sick worried about the Formula One star. Alvarez was thankful that Alonso was not seriously injured and only sustained a concussion from the crash.

“It was a terrible fright, it was a shock for everyone,” Alvarez was quoted saying in an article by Euro Sport. “Thank God everything is going well and soon we will see him back on the track, probably in Malaysia.”

Alvarez, together with Alonso’s mother, came to accompany the two-time F1 world champion when he was discharged from the hospital. Alonso had to stay at a medical facility in Catalunya for three nights following the crash.

Right now, Alonso is busy gearing up for the second race of the F1 season at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. He had to sit out the first race at Albert Park in Melbourne as instructed by his doctors to avoid the risks of having a second-impact syndrome.

The 33-year-old Spanish race car driver already underwent various fitness tests conducted by F1’s governing body to ensure that he will be fit to return to the cockpit of his McLaren-Honda MP4-30. However, Alonso will have to undergo one final test to be carried out by FIA medical delegate Jean-Charles Piette on March 26 before he gets the green light to race in Sepang.

Alonso admitted in a statement that McLaren-Honda will have a lot of work ahead after the team’s mediocre run in Australia. He feels that his teammate Jenson Button’s last place finish was “encouraging” enough in terms of reliability and data collection. He also thanked reserve driver Kevin Magnussen’s effort despite not being able to race after the car failed on the way to the grid.

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

According to Alonso, the tracks at Sepang has always been one of his favourites, having had won three titles, including in 2007 with McLaren. The 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix will kick off on March 27 until March 29.

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