Alonso wanted to try to race despite broken ribs

Fernando Alonso has confirmed he has some fractures to his ribs following his Australian Grand Prix crash but wanted to try and race through the pain in Bahrain.

Having had such a heavy crash in Melbourne, Alonso had to undergo a number of medical examinations in Bahrain and was ruled out of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix on medical grounds. Following the FIA's decision, Alonso revealed he has some fractured ribs which are giving him pain but that he had wanted to try and race anyway.

"A little bit disappointed, obviously," Alonso said. "We want to race, we are competitive drivers and we like competition and love the sport. So when you come here and you cannot even try it is always sad.

"It’s understandable and I respect the decision. I tried until the last moment to be able to race and at least to try in the practice. There’s been some painful days, with some pain at home, but I was ready to go through this pain in the car somehow and make sure I could race.

"t the end of the day the pain is manageable if you don’t think too much and the adrenaline of driving. There are some other risks the doctors think about. It’s a risk factor I understand and to minimise everything is the logical thing. I’m a little bit sad for that but it’s the only way to go. "

Having also had a partially collapsed lung from which he has now recovered, when asked if he is optimistic he will be fit for the Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso replied: "It’s not 100 percent, it will be another test I need to do in the next eight or 10 days.

"After that test the FIA will evaluate again as they did now. First of all is the safety…"