Spain's Fernando Alonso was flown to a Barcelona hospital for precautionary checks following a crash in his McLaren toward the end of morning Formula 1 testing on Sunday.
Alonso, a two-time Formula 1 champion, apparently escaped serious injury when his race car hit a wall at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Alonso's accident added to an already frustrating couple of days for McLaren, which struggled with the set-up of its Honda engines.
As a result of the issues, Alonso — back in the car after having Saturday off — was looking to put as many laps together as possible when he left the track after turn three.
Having come through the corner, the McLaren slammed into the inside wall, according to a BBC report . It was unclear why Alonso lost control of the car, but speculation focused on mechanical failure.
"The speed was slow — maybe 150 kph," fellow driver Sebastian Vettel said. "Then he turned right into the wall. It looked strange."
McLaren posted on Twitter: "Fernando is conscious and is speaking. He has been airlifted to hospital for further checks."