Fernando Alonso will return to F1 Testing with McLaren at the Bahrain test which follows this weekend's Grand Prix.

The Spaniard, who stepped down from racing in F1 at the end of last season, continues to serve as a McLaren ambassador alongside a range of racing activities and has been expected to drive their MCL34 car this year.McLaren has confirmed he will be in action in the car on both days of the in-season test - for the whole day on Tuesday followed by Wednesday afternoon. He will focus exclusively on Pirelli tire testing, with the team running a second car in Bahrain for that specific purpose.McLaren's new race drivers, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, will share duties in the other car, which is free to focus on usual team development work.

Since the end of last season, Alonso has won the Daytona 24 Hours sportscar race and the first 2019 event of the World Endurance Championship in Sebring. He and his Toyota team-mates lead the standings with two rounds to go, at Spa and Le Mans.

The 37-year-old also tested Toyota's Dakar Rally car earlier this week. The return of the two-time world champion after a five-month absence from an F1 track adds to the interest around the first of 2019's two in-season group tests