McLaren Honda
McLaren's Fernando Alonso says he is 'giving everything' in his bid to make a Formula 1 return at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Alonso will miss this weekend's opening round in Australia on advice from doctors, after suffering a concussion during a testing accident at Barcelona on February 22.
Alonso will be replaced at the team by test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, who finished on the podium in Australia last season.
"Of course, I’m very disappointed not to be joining Jenson in Melbourne in the McLaren-Honda garage, but I understand the recommendations of the doctors and I’m already back in training and preparing for my first race in the MP4-30," said Alonso.
"I would like to thank everybody for their kind wishes and support and I’ll be giving everything to be back in the cockpit for Malaysia. I wish Kevin all the best for this weekend in Australia, and I know the car is in his safe hands."
Alonso is expected to follow McLaren's progress with the Honda-powered MP4-30 - which was beset by problems in testing - back at his home.
"Even though we faced a lot of challenges in the tests, I am very encouraged by the feeling I got from the car, and I’m looking forward to going through all of the data from this weekend with the team to continue our push for development and improve our performance," he said.
