Alonso scratched but bullish in Britain

Jul.3 (GMM) Fernando Alonso strolled into the Silverstone paddock on Thursday with a bandaged hand.

But he said it has nothing to do with his big crash with Kimi Raikkonen in Austria two weeks ago.

"I fell off my bike while training," the McLaren-Honda driver and cycling enthusiast told Spanish reporters ahead of the British grand prix, "but I'm fine."

Alonso had been mountain bike riding with a group of friends in the Alps, and reportedly crashed during a descent.

"It's bandaged just so it doesn't infect. Just some scratches," he said.

Much more damaged in the Raikkonen crash was Alonso's newly-installed Honda engine, with Yasuhisa Arai already suggesting the Spaniard might be facing yet another change.

But it is possible Alonso will avoid further penalty.

"I know there have been some talks with the FIA and the team to find some common sense solution," said Alonso, presumably referring to the Strategy Group's decision to give the Honda drivers an extra 'joker' engine for 2015.

And he said another option is to revert to an "older engine" for Silverstone, also avoiding a penalty.

In Austria, only Alonso had enjoyed the new 'short nose' package, but now Jenson Button's car is also equipped with the latest specification.

But it is believed only one new, lighter monocoque has been prepared for Silverstone, and so it is now Button's turn to enjoy the first version.

As for how the new package will fare in Britain, Alonso admitted: "We don't know if we are 12th, 17th or 8th, so it's an important weekend for us."