Fernando Alonso is training in preparation for his return to the McLaren cockpit in China

Having failed the mandatory medical in Bahrain following his high speed crash in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso subsequently admitted that he had suffered a number of cracked ribs in the accident and therefore agreed with the decision.

However, inspired by teammate Jenson Button's pace in FP2, and no doubt feeling like the proverbial 'spare at a wedding' as he watched Stoffel Vandoorne take his seat, by Friday afternoon he and team boss Ron Dennis were pushing the FIA to allow the Spaniard to race.

The request denied, Dennis ranted to the media that teams should be allowed to rule on their drivers' fitness, whilst Alonso resigned himself to watching from the pit-wall as Vandoorne score the team's first point of the season.

Miffed that some had used his side-lining to resurrect the same old stories about retiirng, and reacting verbally (though brilliantly) to Johnny Herbert's suggestion that he should quit, Alonso is clearly keen to prove the doubters wrong.

Taking to Instagram this morning, alongside a picture of him working out, the Spaniard wrote: "Return to the training, in the next few days I hope to do also cycling and swim . Step by step. #training #comeback."