Alpine has announced that Fernando Alonso will not attend Tuesday's launch of the team's 2021 contender, the A521.

The news follows the Spaniard's recent cycling accident which left him with a fractured upper jaw.

"We regret to confirm that Fernando Alonso will not be present for the media Q&A on this occasion," said the French team in a brief statement.

"The sanitary situation and corresponding regulations in place do not allow him to do any communications and marketing activities while he undertakes his critical season preparation," it continued.

"We will instead publish a Q&A with Fernando for media use and he will be available for media in Bahrain for official pre-season testing."

Under the current COVID travel restrictions in the UK - where the virtual launch is to be held - the rules whereby "elite sports people" can avoid mandatory isolation on entering the country only apply to competitive events not promotional.

This week's launch, which takes place on the same day Mercedes takes the wraps off its contender, is a significant event for the French team which has been fully re-branded.

Though Alonso will be missing, teammate Esteban Ocon will be present as will Alpine CEO, Laurent Rossi executive director Marcin Budkowski and the team's new racing director, Davide Brivio, who has joined the French team from Suzuki's world championship-winning MotoGP squad.