from a relatively low impact this is a strange one. I have very little doubt he´s in hospital because of the impact, it was above 15g but below 25g, and the angle was of not much concern from the limited footage. IMO there could well be something in the story that there might have been toxic fumes from the battery or perhaps an electric shock. I would think that an electric shock or something of the car braking is not the case...wouldn´t both see a violent snap from the car? And if something breaks and there is not a violent snap, he would have easily controlled it and not crashed into the wall. The fact that they are keeping him in intensive care to me suggest either toxic fumes inhalation or perhaps something like a heart attack, something not out of the ordinary in very fit people. In any case, Mclaren is staying vague about it.
Alonso to undergo further checks - Pitpass.com --Fernando Alonso's manager has revealed that the Spaniard is to undergo further tests following his crash at Barcelona on Sunday. Speaking to the Spanish media, Luis Garcia Abad confirmed that whilst CT and MRI scans have revealed no cause for concern, the driver, who was concussed in the accident, will undergo further precautionary checks. At the same time, Abad was keen to play down speculation over the cause of the accident amidst claims that Alonso was allegedly seen, just prior to the crash, with his head to one side of the cockpit. This has led to claims that the driver was unwell or had even passed out, which in itself had led to speculation as to the cause, including claims that an ERS-related issue could have knocked him out. "I deny that Fernando was feeling unwell prior to the incident," said Adab. "The car had grip, there was tremendous wind and he went into the wall, the rest is speculation. "The car telemetry has stated that he was correcting from left to right," he added. "Fernando was hitting the brake and changing gears until the moment of impact." The accident took place as the Spaniard exited T3, which unfortunately is in a blind spot as far as the circuit's CCTV is concerned. Contrary to initial reports the car was not as badly damaged as first thought, which, combined withy McLaren's lack of information, has only added to the speculation. However, Tobias Gruner claims the impact was measured at 30g, in what was a ninety degree sideways impact with the wall, and with no suspension deformation it would appear all the energy of the impact went into the Spanish driver. Carlos Sainz, who subsequently crashed at the same corner, blamed the unusually strong winds in the corner, which some now believe could have been a factor in Alonso's accident.--
According to published reports, the impact was 30g and at 90 degreed to the barrier. As for toxic fumes, I am not aware that solid state lithium ion batteries can emit toxic fumes unless they are being burned. If Alonso had suffered a heart attack, a simple blood test would verify that. Commonly used blood tests include troponin tests, CK or CK–MB tests, and serum myoglobin tests.
Wow --- IF that happened (and it's a big if of course and most likely didn't) ...if I were in a car going 150 mph and I got an electrical shock, I'd be hard pressed to get back into the cockpit again anytime soon. That's scary stuff.
Vettel was right behind him and said it looked weird. Alonso was only going about 85 MPH and turned straight into the wall. McLaren says it was a gust of wind.... Hmmmmm.
Not a great photo... He looks drugged to me I think he'll be OK. But it's weird he was only going 80 MPH and then went straight into the wall from "a gust of wind".
I think all of this speculation is being driven by the notion that Alonso is infallible. The picture that is developing is that while he was negotiating a turn, he was hit by a high gust of wind which forced him onto the Astroturf verge. Having hit the Astroturf, he lost control and slid sideways into the wall. A car under cornering load can be unsettled by a gust. The huge difference in traction between asphalt and Astroturf can further unsettle the can, in an instant. Losing control in those circumstances is highly possible even for the best drivers. As good as he is, Alonso is still capable of losing control and crashing.
There was at least one other driver who went off course at that corner, and blamed a gust of wind. And Alonso did not go straight into the wall, he hit the wall with the right side of the car. Given the huge dependence these cars have on aerodynamics to generate down force, it seems completely possible that a strong gust could significantly reduce downforce, instantly and unpredictably.
+1 he is human after all. The speculation and rumor about this simple crash his hilarious to put it mildly.
If a gust of wind can suddenly render two f1 cars uncontrollable by the likes of Nando f1 is in trouble. I don't buy it.
If a drivers hands were off the wheel the winds might well be able to push the car into the wall. Could Freddy have taken his hands off the wheel breifly and gotten caught out by the winds...?
I personally believe something with the KERS system malfunctioned while in that sweeping turn causing a large and momentary jolt of torque to the rear wheels forcing an unrecoverable situation thus Fred to the wall.
staying in the hospital with a concussion, for a world class athlete, sounds reasonable to me. The BBC article states that at the track medical center he was sedated, so that is likely pretty normal I would guess. I'm not a doctor or play one on TV, just hope it's nothing more serious than a loss of control and hitting the wall.
They seemed very adament about downforce and aero being maintained so that just puzzles me more when they say the wind pushed him off the track and he lost control. It just seems as this goes on the story is slightly changing. I don't see why sedation is automatic in situations like this. Maybe drivers are treated differently for some reason. If it's a minor concussion as they've stated and the MRI's and other scans confirm this... I don't see why he would be in ICU... even for precautionary measures...unless of course there's more to the story. Then again, maybe perhaps it's all overkill just because you have a multi-million dollar asset with a bad headache... I get that I guess. Seb's comments only seem to fuel the speculation, however, and I don't see why he would purposely stir things up in a situation like this.
To have a localised gust of wind that is so narrow that it just hits Alonso's car and not Seb's is quite something if true. And how strong would it have to be to derail a full on F1 car with sticky tires and loads of down force? Must have been hurricane force plus a bit. In other words - not very likely...
