Fernando Alonso to miss Japanese GP media day after birth of first child
Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images Fernando Alonso will miss media day at the Japanese Grand Prix after the birth of his first child, delaying his arrival at Suzuka until Friday while still taking part in the race weekend. The Aston Martin driver will not attend Thursday’s media duties after staying with his partner for the birth of their child. The team confirmed he is arriving later for personal reasons and will be at the track in time for Friday.
His schedule has simply been pushed back by a day. The change only affects his off track commitments at the start of the weekend. Although the team did not confirm why the Spaniard will be absent from Thursday’s media sessions, it is now being widely reported that his partner Melissa Jimenez has given birth to the couple’s first child.
The pair have kept their personal lives private, and there is no official confirmation from Alonso about the new arrival. The two time world champion is set to arrive at Suzuka on Friday and will return to full duties from that point. His participation across the rest of the weekend remains unchanged.
That means Alonso will still take part in practice, qualifying and the race. The adjustment avoids any disruption to his competitive running. Jak Crawford to take part in Japanese Grand Prix FP1 Alonso is not scheduled to run in the opening practice session, with Jak Crawford taking part in first practice for Aston Martin.
The outing is part of the team’s required rookie driver programme. The plan was already in place before Alonso’s travel change. As a result, his first track running of the weekend will come in second practice.