Fernando Alonso 'woke up in 1995' after F1 crash, having forgotten the past 20 years of his life
Fernando Alonso “woke up in 1995” after his crash during pre-season testing, having forgotten the past 20 years of his life, according to reports in Spain.
The former world champion has already been ruled out of the first Grand Prix of the new season in Australia on doctors' orders after spending nearly a week in hospital, and despite being seemingly back to full health, alarming reports are filtering through about Alonso's confusion when he regained consciousness.
Spanish daily El País has reported that while in a Barcelona hospital after the crash, the Asturias-born driver was asked who he was, what he did for a living and what he wanted to be in the future.
The two-time world champ reportedly replied: "I'm Fernando, I drive go karts and I want to be a Formula 1 driver."
In 1995 Alonso would have been 13 and attending the Holy Guardian Angel school in his hometown of Oviedo. Alonso's father José Luis was an amateur kart racer and had built a kart for Fernando when he was just three years old.
The 33-year-old could not reportedly remember his 2001 debut in Formula 1 with Minardi, his two world championship titles with Renault nor the four European Cups won by his beloved Real Madrid during the period.
A McLaren spokesman refused to comment on Thursday and said answers about his medical condition would have to come from doctors.
“The day after the accident, we issued a press release, the chief purpose of which was urgently to correct a series of erroneous media reports to the effect that Fernando’s accident had been caused by a variety of car-related issues,” said the spokesman.
“As regards answering ongoing questions as to Fernando’s medical situation, McLaren will not and indeed should not take the lead, since his medical care is being handled by the people best equipped for that task, namely his doctors.
“So all we can say is that he is making good progress, and that we hope and expect he will soon be back to his brilliant best.
“We understand the media’s thirst for further information, but, as I say, the remaining unanswered questions will be answered by doctors, not by Formula 1 personnel.”
