Fernando Alonso is recovering in hospital after a heavy crash during testing left him concussed. The incident occurred during the second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, raising more concerns about driver safety following Jules Bianchi’s horror crash last season.

And we're away. Fernando takes the MP4-30 for a spin in the Barca sun. #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/khed5zMgiq — McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 22, 2015

The accident took place Sunday morning, where Alonso was testing alongside eight other drivers. The day was not going well, with Alonso lapping slowest in the field. The crash took place at the exit of Turn 3, Alonso hitting the wall at 150mph. Fortunately the damage was not too severe, with Alonso being kept in hospital as a precaution after undergoing CT and MRA scans.

Fernando Alonso airlifted to hospital for checks after testing crash. More as we get it. pic.twitter.com/66Nlrxz1X5 — Ted Kravitz (@tedkravitz) February 22, 2015

Fernando is conscious and is speaking. He has been airlifted to hospital for further checks. — McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 22, 2015

Four time world champion Sebastian Vettel was behind Alonso when the accident took place. “The speed was slow – maybe 150kph. Then he turned right into the wall. It looked strange.” Mclaren are still investigating the cause of the accident. Mclaren have had a troubled testing period with reliability issues plaguing the car. Alonso had managed to complete 59 laps on the Friday, the team completing 104 laps in total across the testing weekend. This figure was beaten in one day alone by Mercedes, William and Lotus – all driving using Mercedes engines. Mclaren racing direct Sebastian Boullier told reporters, “While the car wasn’t particularly badly damaged, it was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated. It’s been a tough week for the whole team but we’ll be back, and pushing harder than ever, in Barcelona next week.”

Boullier: "Some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity – it was just a normal testing accident" http://t.co/H4QGGeZRb1 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 22, 2015

Very happy to hear my team mate @alo_oficial is ok. Always scary to see a high speed shunt. #Driversunitedforsafety — Jenson Button (@JensonButton) February 22, 2015

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