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The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said
in a statement that it had been decided the Spaniard could not
take part in Sunday's race after an examination at the Sakhir
circuit.
"Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided
that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him
to compete on safety grounds," it said.
A repeat chest scan had been requested before the Chinese Grand
Prix and the results would be analyzed before allowing him to
race there.
Bahrain is the second race of the 21-round season. The third, in
Shanghai, takes place on April 17.
Vandoorne, last year's GP2 champion and a rising star in the
sport, is McLaren's official stand-in. The Honda-powered team
said he would be at the Bahrain circuit on Friday, in time for
first practice.
Alonso's crash in Melbourne, after colliding with Mexican
Esteban Gutierrez's Haas in the March 20 season opener, provided
a moment of high drama with the race red-flagged before an
eventual re-start.
The Spaniard, a double world champion, was fortunate to escape
serious injury, climbing out of his wrecked car without
assistance and released from the medical center after
precautionary checks.
Alonso had been due to race in Bahrain with a new chassis and
replacement power unit after Honda said there was little to
salvage.
McLaren revealed this week that the impact in the flying crash
had been sufficient to crack Alonso's moulded seat, although
they played down the significance of that.
"The fact that the seat cracked but was not broken means it did
its job well," said a spokesman. "It flexed helpfully, as it was
designed to do, and it efficiently absorbed a lot of the energy
of the accident."
Former champions McLaren, who have not won a race since 2012,
are fighting back from their worst ever season and appeared to
be more competitive in Australia despite failing to score
points.
Alonso had missed last year's Australian Grand Prix after a
heavy crash in pre-season testing in Barcelona left him
suffering from concussion.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Alison Williams and John
Stonestreet)
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