Fernando Alonso was cleared of serious injury following an off-track excursion in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that resulted in complaints of back pain.
Alonso was forced off the circuit through Turn 2 by Jean-Eric Vergne having emerged from his final pitstop side-by-side with the Toro Rosso driver.
The Spaniard held his nerve to keep the position, despite a bump in the outfield momentarily lifting his Ferrari’s front wheels from the ground; resulting in a reported 25G impact when it landed.
“I still have all the teeth after the bump,” Alonso joked post-race.
“In the back obviously there is pain a little bit now because it was a big hit.
“We had the alarm also on the chassis after some G-Forces. For sure it was a big hit but hopefully I’m okay for Austin and Brazil.”
The incident was investigated post-race, with Alonso escaping penalty on the grounds that he had no choice but to leave the circuit due to Vergne’s presence.
Alonso went on to finish fifth, passing the one-stopping Paul di Resta in the closing stages.
The result allowed the two-time champion to cement his second place in the standings, now holding a 34 point buffer over Kimi Raikkonen with two races remaining.
