Fernando Alonso is very proud of his performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, so much so that the Spanish driver claimed nobody else at Baku could have equalled his driving in the race.

Fernando Alonso Azerbaijan Grand Prix Finish

Alonso, who drives with McLaren and finished seventh, was hit by Sergey Sirotkin’s Williams in the first lap at Baku, a lap the Spaniard believes only he could have been able to finish.

“Another seventh place but I think it was the result of persistence and pride, because I think no one [else] would have reached the pitlane, first of all,” Alonso said, according to ESPN. “They would have parked the car and if they could reach the pitlane they would have retired the car.

“But we didn’t park or retire the car and fought for every tenth, every lap, close to the walls all race long and, I think it was the best race of my life.”

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In the opening-lap crash with Sirotkin — which also involved Nico Hulkenberg — Alonso suffered two punctured tires. He also replaced the wheels and the front wing.

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The Spaniard added that he thinks other competitors would have “parked their cars” if they had sustained the same amount of damage his vehicle took on at the beginning of the Formula 1 race.

“It was an unrepeatable race,” two-time world champion Alonso said in an Instagram post.

Alonso’s McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne finished ninth at Baku.

Next up for Alonso is competing for Toyota this weekend at the 6 Hours of Spa, his first World Endurance Championship race of 2018.

Jenson Button is making his return to Formula One after a five-month absence.

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The 37-year-old British driver will replace Spaniard Fernando Alonso on the McLaren team at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 28.

Spanish McLaren Driver Fernando Alonso has been ruled out of this upcoming weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix as a result of the injuries he sustained during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 20.

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The former World Champion will be replaced by Beglian McLaren third driver Stoffel Vandoorne for the rest of the weekend.

Following the accident, Alonso, 34, complained of a swollen knee and sore ribs. He was ruled out because of the latter after an FIA medical examination in Bahrain on Thursday. The Spaniard missed the Australian GP due to his Barcelona testing accident.

An FIA statement said: “Following an examination undertaken this morning at the Bahrain International Circuit Medical Centre, it has been decided that McLaren Honda F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso should not take part in this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided on safety grounds that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds.”

It added: “A repeat chest scan has been requested before the Chinese Grand Prix and the results will be considered before allowing him to race there.”

Shortly after getting the news of his debut in Bahrain, Vandoorne, 24, said the following on Twitter:

“I respect the decision,” Alonso commented. “I tried until the last moment to be able to race, at least to try in the practice. It has been some painful days at home. I was ready to go through this pain somehow in the car and make sure I could race, because at the end of the day the pain is manageable if you don’t think too much probably.”

PHOTO: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 20: Jolyon Palmer of Great Britain drives the (30) Renault Sport Formula One Team Renault RS16 Renault RE16 turbo with Fernando Alonso of Spain drives the (14) McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team McLaren MP4-31 Honda RA616H Hybrid turbo on track at the start during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 20, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

If McLaren has their way, the Formula One’s future will become the present. The British racing team unveiled their MP4-X Formula One Concept Car, which they hope will power them to continued on-track success.

The most noticeable feature of the car is a fighter jet-style cockpit, designed to give drivers increased visibility during a race. To bolster this potential, the car will also be fitted with cameras that feed images directly to the driver’s helmet, allowing him or her to effectively “see through walls.” The system will also provide a heads-up display, alerting the driver to various circumstances, such as debris on the track or the position of the nearest competitor.

Beyond that, the car itself has “thin batteries” and solar energy cells in an attempt to make racing more sustainable. The vehicle is also capably of automatic adjustments to keep the driver safe.

Thanks to wheel-mounted tire sensors, incorrect air pressure will never be an issue. Each sensor is connected to an on-board electronic command unit. That unit in turn works with an pressure regulator to make sure that each wheel is inflated to the right level. This should not only allow for better performances, but also keep dangerous blow-outs and tire delamination to a minimum.

“With the futuristic McLaren MP4-X concept racecar, we wanted to peer into the future and imagine the art of the possible,” said John Allert, Group Brand Director of McLaren Technology Group.

“We have combined a number of F1’s key ingredients – speed, excitement and performance, with the sport’s emerging narratives – such as enclosed cockpits to enhance driver safety, and hybrid power technologies. Formula 1 is the ultimate gladiatorial sport, and the future we envisage will be a high tech, high performance showcase that excites fans like no other sport.”

While it is only a concept, cars like the MP4-X can provide hope for what Formula One’s future might bring.

Photo via McLaren