Fernando Alonso to require further jaw surgery

Fernando Alonso will need further surgery on the injury he suffered during a cycling accident earlier in the year. On the first day of pre-season testing, Alonso revealed he would need further medical care after the 2021 season. Alonso said:

"I will have to remove two titanium plates that I have on the upper jaw, that will be removed at the end of the season."

Alonso predicts the injury will not impact his driving:

"I don't expect any issues honestly," said Alonso. "I've been training for I think three weeks or two weeks, absolutely normal and I've been in the simulator as well, Monday and Tuesday, so you know the preparations were not affected too much."

Just a #A521 livery-appreciation tweet...#F1Testing pic.twitter.com/l1T1qgpXhg

— Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) March 12, 2021

When asked about the time he has missed with Alpine, the Spaniard said:

"I missed only a couple of marketing days and filming days which I was happy with in a way. And then, I recorded everything yesterday afternoon, so I had a very intense day on marketing activities. But yeah I feel fine, obviously."

Fernando Alonso looking forward to the challenge

Talking about the challenges of the tight Formula 1 midfield, Fernando Alonso said he was relishing the opportunity to show how good he is.

Day 1 at Bahrein ☀️🌪. @AlpineF1Team #alpine #f1 pic.twitter.com/k9yHNvKt0D

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 12, 2021

"I don't fear any particular challenge," he said. "But how the midfield is right now, it is very competitive, so it's something that we are aware of, that we need to maximize and we need to make perfection every weekend if we want to score good points."

Fernando Alonso will attract a lot of attention throughout the season as he charts his return to the pinnacle of motorsports. Will he succeed in his final attempt at Formula 1 glory? It's hard to tell, but his second stint in the series is going to be worth paying attention to.