APRIL 12, 2016

Alonso in China for F1 return bid

Fernando Alonso is already in Shanghai as he bids to return to F1 action this weekend.

Fernando Alonso is already in Shanghai as he bids to return to F1 action this weekend.

On social media, the Spaniard has posted several messages from the sprawling Chinese city, including a cartoon depicting him frantically exercising amid the backdrop of his McLaren-Honda.

"Working. Projects," another Instagram photo posted by Alonso, depicting Shanghai's streets, read.

But whether FIA doctors will give him the green light on Thursday, or usher Stoffel Vandoorne back into Alonso's cockpit, is not clear.

AS newspaper, a well-connected Spanish sports daily, said the 34-year-old has improved since Bahrain but still has a broken ninth rib.

"Alonso has travelled to China with his two physios, Edo Bendinelli and Fabrizio Borra, with a specific recovery plan for this Shanghai race," read the report.

"He is now fully recovered from the pneumothorax (collapsed lung), which AS has learned was the main reason for him not racing in Bahrain," correspondent Manuel Franco added.

(GMM)