Fernando Alonso, Renault, Yas Marina, 2020

Alonso “awaiting medical examinations” on possible injury after cycling accident

2021 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Fernando Alonso has been taken to hospital following a cycling accident in Switzerland, his team have confirmed.

The extent of any injuries the two-times world champion may have suffered are not yet known.

“Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Fernando Alonso has been involved in a road accident while cycling in Switzerland,” the team confirmed in a statement on Thursday.

“Fernando is conscious and well in himself and is awaiting further medical examinations tomorrow morning.

“Alpine F1 Team will not make any further statement at this point in time. Further updates will be given tomorrow.”

Italian sporting publication La Gazzetta dello Sport reported the accident took place near Lugano and initial examinations of Alonso indicated he “has possible fractures”.

Alonso is due to make his comeback to Formula 1 this year with the Alpine team, previously known as Renault. It will be the 39-year-old’s 18th season in the sport.

Alpine is yet to confirm details of its launch plans for the new season. However the team and its rivals are due to participate in a three-day pre-season test at Bahrain International Circuit beginning on March 12th. The first race of the new season will take place at the same circuit 16 days later.

Don't miss anything new from RaceFans

Follow RaceFans on social media:

2021 F1 season

Browse all 2021 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

84 comments on “Alonso “awaiting medical examinations” on possible injury after cycling accident”

  1. Multiple broken bones according to ‘de telegraaf’.

    1. Broken jaw as well. Again, riding bikes on the road whilst legal it is not sensible.

        1. Incidents like Nickey Hayden, Alex Zandari & even Mark Webber breaking few ribs highlight the risks involved. F1 paddock in general is historcially obsessed with cycling more than average, tho many new drivers or even Rosberg/Hamilton stopped/do very little now. Alonso/Bottas per their social media cycle almost every day in mountainous Monaco/Switzerland. Always a risk

      1. Any activity that has you around cars is dangerous. Running, walking, and especially cycling. I tried lights and reflectors, it doesn’t really help.

        I really like cycling but I don’t own a road bike because it isn’t fun to have cars zipping past.

        But most people don’t have that understanding, especially about walking and running. It isn’t intuitive that being on a public street is roughly equivalent equivalent to riding a motorcycle.

        1. Honestly if I was an F1 team boss I’d rather my driver solo skydive like Lewis Hamilton does than constantly be on the road biking/cycling. The odds are just against you, even if its a minor injury through to something serious or even death. Pretty sure Hamiltons engineer broke a leg/ribs few years back on a Merc team cycling trip. So many examples.

      2. Victim blaming.

        1. Not victim blaming, just highlighting that riding bikes on the road is more dangerous than motorsports, even pro cyclist get hurt practising.

          1. Try looking at the stats of pedestrian injuries and deaths from cars vs bikes. Maybe you are getting confused with motorbikers which my wifes profession call ‘donors’

      3. Nonesense, cycling is very safe (atleast in the Netherlands) but i would not cycle in the Americas (north and South)
        Also it depends on the driver itself but F1 drivers should react much faster to stay out of trouble. I cycle as i drive my motor very defensive!

        1. @macleod

          It’s much safer in The Netherlands because there are a lot of separate cycle lanes.

      4. Most of these accidents happen on Italian roads, and yes I consider Italian language area Lugano aswell even doh people will argue it is Swiss.
        You have to incredibly careful on those roads as a cyclist, drivers are not used to cyclists and they drive very very fast.

  2. La Gazetta dello sport are reporting that he was hit by a car and according to the primary radiographic examinations he may have possible fractures. Hope he is fine though.

    1. Yeah, I think we all hope he’s fine @tifoso1989.

      1. @bascb
        I think cycling in public roads should be banned for top athletes because it’s extremely dangerous. We already have already a precedent with Nicky Hayden (RIP).

        1. I actually think it would be better to make sure cars don’t hit any cyclists!

          1. Ban cars from public roads. They’re better on race tracks.

        2. So Pro cycling should be banned?

          1. Hope Alonso is is OK BTW

          2. @stjs16
            In pro cycling events such as Tour de France or Il Giro d’Italia, the roads are closed to motorised traffic with the exception of ambulances, local organising staff…

          3. @tifoso1989 The grand tours and classics are closed road but not events are, however the majority of training is on public roads.

        3. @tifoso1989 utter rubbish, it’s not up to any authority to tell people they can’t participate in their hobby just because they happen to be professional sportspeople.

        4. AFAIK many athletes have “dangerous activities” such as riding motorcycles in public road banned in their contracts, cycling in public roads should be at least considered to be dangerous

        5. Drivers of cars should take more personal responsibility and this wouldn’t happen so often. I don’t know about Europe but in the US people drive paying little attention to their surroundings. If you hit a cyclist or pedestrian you should be banned from driving for life.

          1. Some countries are better than others, riding in Belgium is a joy compared the UK.

          2. I guess that inattentive pedestrians who cause an accident should be banned from walking for life, and inattentive cyclists who cause an accident should be banned from cycling for life too?

          3. Surely you must be joking. A car is a 3000 lb death machine and should be driven on public roads with a sense of responsibility. If you are crashing into people you are not taking responsibility behind the wheel.

          4. so you assume that all accidents happen because someone is ‘irresponsible’ and I can sense the ‘won’t ever happen to me’ tone in your post. But, in reality, accidents do happen on roads and bicycles sharing roads with cars just doesn’t make sense at all. there has to be separated roads for bicycles just like pedestrians. And, I mean really ‘separated’ and not the usual lines on the side kind of paths…

          5. Motor manufacturers also bear some responsibility, through vehicle design. In the quest for greater crash protection, modern vehicles have enormous A and C pillars. Some cars have dangerous blind spots that can “hide” pedestrians, cyclists, and even motor vehicles! This problem didn’t exist 20 or 30 years ago.

            I bet anybody £1000 that motor manufacturers COULD make vehicle pillars thinner, but that would cost more money …..

        6. I think we should just make driving tests harder and ban people who demonstrate they’re incapable of sharing roads.

          1. Works for Finland.

          2. Or you know, ban people from cycling.

        7. So we ban top athletes from cycling on public roads because it’s dangerous, what about your average cyclist then, is it acceptable for them to get injured or killed on the roads.
          Lets not forget that many road accidents involving cyclists are actually caused by the cyclist themselves and are not always the fault of the motorist.

    2. Sorry to repeat the same sentence you have reported @keithcollantine because I was reading la Gazetta Dello Sport at the time you posted the story.

  3. Hope he heals quickly and well

    1. Agree. The only positive to come out of this news is that there aren’t serious injuries that will affect his quality of life in the long run. Bicycle accidents could go horribly wrong and I’m glad it didn’t go that way for Fernando.

      Having said that, he already had a monumental challenge with his return in 2021, which only got more difficult due to this incident. I’m sure he’s got the fighting spirit to recover as soon as possible and get back in the car, but I think it will affect his pre season running and performance in the early part of the season. We all want to see him back at his best… but it is looking more difficult after today’s news.

  4. Gave me flashbacks to nicky hayden. Hope all is well.

  5. 2001 Bob Wollek… for us old timers. He rode his bike back to the hotel after practice and got killed.

  6. Benson reporting that Alsonso apparently has broken his jaw and will be taken to the Bern hospital for further treatment.

    1. I’d be worried if it was his collarbone, a common cycling injury. Mending that stuff requires cutting back on a lot of physical activity, and the recovery tends to be long-ish.

      1. @faulty jaw is far worse, Lorenzo plated his collarbone and rode the very next day. Broken jaw may take years to fully heal.

        1. Depends on the doctor and treatment (allso how the jaw was broken multiple parts is really bad) I heard there were more parts broken i hope for Alsonso that isn’t all his jaw.

    2. Is it possible or safe to wear the helmet over a fractured jaw? Just seems like a crash could get way worse if your lower face was already injured.

      Really hope he isn’t messed up too bad. It will be a really cruel twist of fate if he’s unable to drive after such a long wait.

      1. It’s not allowed to wear a helmet with a broken jaw as any pressure on the jaw could damage it.

  7. Fernando is conscious and well in himself and is awaiting further medical examinations tomorrow morning.

    Well that’s very reassuring, very relieved that it’s not life threatening stuff!

  8. Oh no.. But himself to blame. No dangerous activities right before or during a season should almost be in driver’s contract by now. It’s almost unprofessional. It doesn’t matter if you own a cycling team and it’s a passion. He was squeezing every little drop of preparedness from the team and look at him now. Weeks of training lost with possible complications even affecting the driving.

    1. No. You cant stop a person enjoying just for the sake of their job. And cyclung isnt that dangerous. Freak accidents csn happen in any part of life, look at michael schumacher

      1. No…..but you can put it in their contract as a termination clause. Footballers have all sorts of activities they can’t partake cos it increase their risk of injury.

      2. Even Paul de Resta when he was active was saying how the training was so boring playing it safe in the gym.

        Bicycling is statistically quite an unsafe activity. Wasn’t it Webber who broke his leg bicycling and lost a lot of preparation and I bet he was not the first F1 driver with a cycling injury.

  9. About a month to go until pre-season testing begins and roughly a month and a half until the Bahrain GP, so he’s got time, but hopefully nothing serious. Nevertheless, unnecessary risks this close to testing and the first race. A low likelihood that he doesn’t fully recover in time, but on the off chance, who’d substitute for him? For reference, Zhou, and co., don’t have a super license. Maybe Hulkenberg (if he’d be interested in making a one-off return to team Enstone), Albon, Kvyat, whoever.

    1. I forgot about Sirotkin.

    2. Oscar Piastri does have enough points for a superlicence. And Zhou may be if he wins the Asian F3.

    3. They should be getting Hulk off his couch and into training now rather than wait to literally the last second (inexplicable short-sightness by others last year).
      Even if Alonso is fine to start testing, having a reserve ready to go (and compare to) will give him the option to shorten his days and still have a fully productive program.

    4. Maybe Hulkenberg (if he’d be interested in making a one-off return to team Enstone), Albon, Kvyat, whoever.

      @jerejj, not necessary a one-off though. If fracture reports are correct Alonso could miss several races.

  10. Almost every F1 driver do bike training. It was an accident, that’s all. You cannot keep drivers out of any potential risk. That’s life. I don’t get your point.

    1. @Fu manchu Some risks are more unnecessary than others. Unnecessary risks this close to testing and the first race aren’t worth taking.

      1. Best keep all drivers covered in bubble wrap tell them not to get out of bed then 🙄🙄🙄

      2. I remember JPM getting injured while playing tennis. I guess no one is truly safe.

        1. @faulty He said he was playing tennis ;-)

          1. Indeed. He sorta suggested that it was a motorbike accident in his Beyond the Grid interview ;)

          2. No ONE is truly safe.

    2. You can’t get rid of all potential risk but you can get then off unnecessary stupid ones…..like cycling.

      1. @yaru We are not talking about BASE jumping, Parkour, or tiger petting here. OK, a Car crashed on him, bad luck. I’m sure even you have ridden a bike in your life and no one called you stupid for that :)

  11. Damn, one of the few things to tune into in 2021 for those who want to see something a little different to the 2020 season.

  12. Alonso’s karma never ends. It’s serious, otherwise the news would be more clear.

    His winter training just went down the drain if he needs to be at rest for some weeks.

    One month to recover, one month to get in shape.

    Hulk and Magnussen sitting by their phones at this time, chargers connected and all.

  13. Man I hope he recovers both physically & mentally to make a come back early in the season still. I’ve always been freaked out by how many motorsport folk are obsessed with cycling, almost always in mountainous areas. Having driven on some of those roads in South of France above Monaco they’re often full of risks. Especially after Nickey Haydens death, Alex Zandari’s recent terrifying crash & even Webber back in 2099 with broken ribs. Having followed Fernando on Instagram he cycles daily it seems, Just like Bottas whose GF is a cyclist the speeds on public roads is insane. Although folks like Rosberg/Hamilton gave up on cycling a while back bar few occasions, seems wise when you can keep fit in other ways that are less time consuming, let alone the risk, although you could argue risk is everywhere.

    1. Risk is everywhere but cycling on roads is a stupid extra one. Plenty of ways to stay fit without it.

  14. Hope someone has got the message to N. Hulk … keep training. Ya just never know.
    If it is only a broken jaw, as indicated above and elsewhere, that can be handled and he will not loose too much training. He will loose weight and the silence may be deafening.
    Yes, we all hope Alonso recovers quickly. Really looking forward to him doing what Alonso does so well.

    1. As someone who broke their jaw on both sides back in 2003 (on a bike funny enough) I can testify that it takes some recovering. I can’t imagine he’ll be in a f1 car soon having his head go under that many g’s if he has.

    2. It is serious as he need to visit a specialist expect multiple breaks and those aren’t easy or fast healed…

  15. And for years now everyone has been saying he ‘can’t catch a break’!

    Without knowing the fracture(s) it’s all just speculation, I can’t imagine a mandible fracture is fun, but obviously it depends on the fracture and where it is. My right hand is littered with them (I’ve never punched anyone in my life to clarify).

    I’ve never driven an F1 car to a podium, but when Romain says he did, the reality is that lots of us have a variety of fractures all over our bodies, but things like collarbone or jaw really don’t sound good.

    He was always going to be one of the more interesting stories of the season, I hope he makes it.

  16. Lucky to be alive or not have worse injuries by the sound of it.

    You look at Schumacher, Hayden, Zanardi, Webber, now Alonso. Seems like the safest place for these guys is behind the wheel of an F1 car.

    Alonso almost certainly misses the start of the season, might miss several races or more depending on the severity.

    You have to feel sorry for Renault because Ocon has been a weak number two so far. This is going to set them back in preseason testing having Ocon and a substitute.

    Hulkenberg seems like the obvious case as a replacement given he drove for Renault not long ago. But there’s also guys like Albon and Magnussen to choose from. None ideal.

    They really need someone with experience. If it were Ocon they needed to replace, they could probably take a punt with someone like Guanyu Zhou.

    1. @Dean Franklin, I also recall nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb having an accident when riding a mountain bike back in 2006, which forced him to sit out the remaining events and could’ve cost him the title win of that year.

  17. I can’t imagine what the driver thinks about crashing with a F1 star

    1. @qeki Hitting him must’ve been a weird feeling, but more importantly, more terrifying and shameful than if the cyclist was some random nobody.

      1. @jerejj I was worried if this would be the same case as Zanardi. Fingers crossed that if he will miss some races it will be only a handful.

  18. Where was Hulkenurg when the accident happened? What car was he driving?

    1. HulkenBurg!

    2. Is Ron Dennis in Switzerland?

    3. More importantly.. where was Ocon?

  19. Ericsson comeback?

  20. Good that he is conscious and “ok in himself’ hopefully no serious life changing or long term injury. Racing is secondary, most important is his health.

Comments are closed.