What's up with Fred?

[Nem14]

Vettel says - "The speed was slow - maybe 150kph. Then he turned right into the wall. It looked strange."

Boullier says - ". . . the car wasn't particularly badly damaged . . ."

Then Alonso's manager says - "The crash was very hard,” he said. “We don’t have images but it was very hard . . . it was a serious impact."
“The car telemetry has stated that he was correcting from left to right. Fernando was hitting the brake and changing gears until the moment of impact.”

So how much slower than 150 kph does the telemetry say Fernando was going at impact?

McLaren has said - "(Alonso's) car ran wide at the entry to Turn 3 - which is a fast uphill right-hander - allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track."
A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the circuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on."

(Which also indicates the car likely slowed some amount before impact.)

"It was a significant lateral impact (how many g's is "significant"?), resulting in damage to the front upright and axle. After the initial impact, the car slid down the wall for about 15 seconds before coming to a halt.
All four wheels remained attached to the car,

but no damage was sustained by the bodywork or crash structure between the front and rear wheels.”

Is there an issue with the McLaren's cockpit surround?
Based on the information provided by McLaren and Alonso's manager, how is it Alonso's concussion is severe enough to warrant 3 nights in hospital.

Inquiring minds want to know, and what are we to think tomorrow if Alonso is not released from hospital?

[Tazio]

Fred is afraid to leave the hospital, because twelve gulz that have visited claim to be his McBabe, and he can't remember if it is any or all!

[CNR]

http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/02/25/...time-hospital/
"While the squad stated that their driver is making a “solid recovery”, Alonso’s manager says his driver stay in hospital is yet to be determined, which could see the 33-year-old miss the start of this week’s test.

“He will remain here the time that we need to be sure that everything is fine,” said Garcia Abad.

“The impact was quite hard and we want to be sure that everything is fine. I can’t say is it is one, two or three days more.
"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDfC6wGQrLA

[Bagwan]

So , Fred says he doesn't remember a thing about the whole affair .
That's not good .
"To be sure that everything is fine" indicates it it is all but "fine" .

A photographer is contradicting the "astroturf touch" , saying he was nowhere near as wide as Mac suggested .
He had him more in the middle of the track .

Normally , going wide indicates you have overcooked it , too fast to stay on .
But , Seb said he was slow , so that doesn't hold water .

So , look for another reason .
Believe Mac , saying no loss of aerodynamic pressure , and the wind is out the window as well .
No mechanical faults either , before the crash .

They stated that because he was steering , braking , and shifting gears before impact , he was conscious .
However , I read somewhere , a driver questioning why he would be trying to shift during the episode .

Seb said it was strange , with him steering straight into the wall .

After the impact , Mac heard a few garbled murmurs and then silence as he passed out .
He then had to be sedated before his helicopter ride .

Usually , if you are concussed lightly , they'll send you home at least the next day , especially with the kind of supervision that Fred could have .
So , in my mind , he's either showing some bad signs in his tests or mannerisms , enough to warrant more stay , or they are worried that his condition may have had something to do with the cause of the incident .


We know Fred is a good driver , and doesn't normally spear it into the wall .

He sure looked completely spaced in that "thumbs up" photo . I think I would have chosen to keep him in hospital if I had seen that photo .
Hell , I think I would have chosen to keep him in hospital just knowing that he chose to tweet that stunned photo in the first place .




I just hope he's ok .

[Doc Austin]

Thankfully he seems to be fine now: Alonso finally released from hospital

[kfzmeister]

It happens. Can we please stop with the conspiracy theories now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf0wz8ObcSo

[Triumph]

Gil De Ferran is suggesting that it was more serious if Alonso was kept in hospital for three days, so perhaps it was a more serious concussion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/31627619

[AndyL]

Gary Hartstein, former F1 doctor, is on the conspiracy theory side as well; he says this on twitter:
Can’t speculate, but not a scintilla of doubt that at best we’ve been given the tiniest sliver of truth; at worst treated like we were fools

[Nem14]

Dr. Hartstein says what I feel in my gut about the statements McLaren has made.
McLaren is playing everyone for fools.

Today Ron Dennis said: "The G figures of the accident were significantly less in his helmet than they were in the car. Significantly less than half of the G figures in his accelerometers in his ears."

People get suspicious of a cover up/conspiracy when they try to apply logic, add up 1+2+3, and get 9 instead of 6.

[Mia 01]

He had some serious offs earlier years, this one could have carried him over the Cliff. We will see.