Fernando Alonso fails medical exam in Bahrain

Fernando Alonso will miss this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Although the Spaniard made the trip to the island kingdom in the wake of his horror crash in Melbourne, his clearance to return to the cockpit depended on a meeting with FIA doctors today.

After that examination, while Alonso told reporters he feels "okay" and wants to race, the FIA revealed that the McLaren-Honda driver has been ruled out for Bahrain.

"Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds," spokesman Matteo Bonciani confirmed.

McLaren confirmed that Alonso will be replaced in Bahrain by reserve Stoffel Vandoorne, the reigning GP2 champion, who is now en route.

The Woking-based team said that it accepted the FIA's decision about Alonso, who is now aiming to return to action in China.