Fernando Alonso - Return of the king for Malaysian GP
Fernando Alonso`s return from his mysterious crash and concussion will give struggling McLaren a boost as the Formula One field strives to rein in Mercedes at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
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Kuala Lumpur: Fernando Alonso`s return from his mysterious crash and concussion will give struggling McLaren a boost as the Formula One field strives to rein in Mercedes at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
McLaren`s Jenson Button is convinced the celebrated marque can figure in 2015, but they have a long road ahead after the Briton trailed home 11th and last at the season-opener in Melbourne.
Alonso`s second stint at McLaren will get off to a delayed start at the Sepang circuit, subject to final medical clearance on Thursday, with questions still hovering about his crash in testing on February 22.
The MP4-30 of Alonso, who suffered temporary memory loss in the accident, will be fitted with an extra sensor after he recalled "heavy steering" before the crash on an innocuous stretch of Barcelona`s Circuit de Catalunya, McLaren said.
Although McLaren`s expectations will be modest, Alonso was bullish as he tweeted about the three wins at Sepang which have made him one of the race`s most successful drivers.
"Three victories with three teams," the two-time world champion posted in Spanish, highlighting his 2005, 2007 and 2012 triumphs for Renault, McLaren and Ferrari respectively.
World body FIA`s medical staff will be busy on Thursday with Williams` Valtteri Bottas also seeking clearance from a back problem which ruled him out in Australia.
And Manor are expected to make a delayed debut after the new team, built from the detritus of failed outfit Marussia, were unable even to leave their garage in Australia.
Manor`s woes, plus Bottas`s injury, Alonso`s absence on medical advice and mechanical problems for McLaren and Red Bull combined to leave just 15 cars on the Melbourne grid, the lowest number at a season-opener since 1963.
With Mercedes` dominance prompting Red Bull to hint at quitting F1, it was far from a smooth start even for a sport which is well used to crisis and controversy.
Inherent financial difficulties were underlined when Germany later announced it was unable to host a grand prix this year, ending a run of 54 consecutive races.
On the more positive side, Brazil`s Felipe Nasr, 22, shrugged off legal challenges over Sauber`s driver line-up to finish fifth in Australia on his Formula One debut.
And Max Verstappen, 17, will also hope to build on an encouraging start when the sport`s youngest ever driver drove solidly before he suffered a mechanical failure.
But calls for change will only grow louder if Mercedes repeat their crushing performance in Melbourne, when Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg outstripped their rivals by more than 30 seconds.