SPAIN'S twice-world champion Fernando Alonso's concussion caused him a severe retrograde amnesia that wiped out 20 years of his memory, according to doctors who treated him in Barcelona after he crashed into a wall during pre-season testing on the Montmeló circuit.
The McLaren driver, who was due to début with his new team next weekend in Melbourne, Australia, but has scratched following medical advice, believed it was 1995 and he was a 13-year-old pupil at an Oviedo (Asturias).
As is standard practice when attempting to rule out possible brain damage, medics asked him basic questions when he came to after the crash left him briefly unconscious, such as his name and what he did for a job.
He said: "I'm Fernando, I do go-kart racing and I want to be a Formula 1 driver."
Alonso had no memory of his first-ever Formula 1 race with Team Minardi, nor his later career moves with Rénault, McLaren, Ferrari or his more recent re-signing with McLaren.
He did not remember having been world champion twice, nor having watched his favourite football team, Real Madrid FC, playing in the Champions' League four times.
Doctors were very alarmed at the memory retrieval loss which, if permanent or long-term, could have been a sign of brain damage.
Tests carried out on him showed there was no damage and he got his memory back within a few hours, and has since joked about it.