How Did Alonso Survive at This Accident?
How Did Alonso Survive at This Accident?
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MELBOURNE - As the Australian Grand Prix was concluding, Fernando Alonso was offered but declined a piece of cake in the McLaren motorhome and it was one of the greatest miracles in all sport that he was able to do so.
A few minutes earlier, the most dramatic accident many in Formula One could recall had stopped the race dead. The wreckage of Alonso’s car was planted on the wall like a swatted fly. Only the carbon fibre of the tub in which he sat separated the Spaniard from Melbourne and the next life.
Pieces of exotic lightweight metal were strewn across the Albert Park track. Thankfully, the TV cameras were not following him at the moment of impact, when he was travelling at 200mph approaching turn three.
If they had, nobody would have given a prayer for human life emerging from the wreckage. Instead, the incident was watched backwards: he was seen tottering out of the smash before the re-runs had shown us the collision itself.
Alonso’s first thought was for his mother watching from Oviedo, Spain. ‘I was thinking that I should get out as soon as I could to let her know I was OK,’ he said later.
The horror unfolded on the 17th lap when he was trying to pass the Haas car of Esteban Gutierrez.
Alonso’s right front wheel caught the rear left of Gutierrez, his car hit the Rolex hoarding on the left of the track and did two full rotations across a gravel trap — the second more vertical than the flat first revolution — and ended up pinned against the tyre wall, a crumpled mess and upside down.
Gutierrez, his car far less damaged but still crippled enough to end his participation in this season-opening race, waited for Alonso anxiously. The two then put their arms around each other. Neither apportioned blame.
The double world champion moved gingerly at first but soon found a surer stride and waved to the crowds. He got back to the McLaren motorhome and hugged racing director Eric Boullier. A series of hugging and shaking hands continued for the rest of the day.
It is understood the impact was 46g — an aerobatic display team operate between 9g and 12g — yet he was left with nothing more than bruised knees. The FIA doctors cleared him and not long after Nico Rosberg had sprayed the winner’s champagne he was, of all things, chatting to Timmy Mallett, the one-time children’s TV entertainer who was a VIP guest of McLaren.
"You are not exactly aware where you are. You are just flying and then you see the sky, the ground, the sky, the ground, and you don’t know. When I stopped I saw a little space to get out of the car and I got out quickly. Then I didn’t know where I was because I was so far from the track," said Alonso who missed this race last year after a crash in pre-season testing. ‘
"I had travelled a lot when I was flying. Apart from the pain in my knees from bouncing a lot in the cockpit, I should be okay. I’ll tell you in the morning. You are thankful that you are alive and have no big injuries. But the second thought is the frustration of not finishing the race," he added.
The accident, which caused the action to be red-flagged for 20 minutes, brought to mind Martin Brundle’s serious but marginally less spectacular crash at the same spot in 1996.
Among many other things, Alonso’s survival was testament to the safety improvements in Formula One.
Sir Jackie Stewart, the sport’s original and most determined safety exponent, was in the paddock here.
Alonso could well have raised a glass in the Scotsman’s direction, as well as to the memory of Professor Sid Watkins, who attended to the dying Ayrton Senna at Imola and oversaw a revolution in driver protection during Max Mosley’s presidency of the FIA.
But McLaren have played their part, too. They were the first team to design a carbon-fibre chassis, rather than aluminium ones, in 1981. When their driver John Watson crashed at high speed in Monza that year, the innovation allowed him to walk away.
Even before Alonso went airborne, the race was an entertaining riposte to the doom-laden utterances that greeted the elimination-style qualifying which left the track empty for five minutes at the end of the session on Saturday. The teams, subject to approval from the F1 Commission, have agreed to jettison the format immediately and revert to the old system.
A few minutes earlier, the most dramatic accident many in Formula One could recall had stopped the race dead. The wreckage of Alonso’s car was planted on the wall like a swatted fly. Only the carbon fibre of the tub in which he sat separated the Spaniard from Melbourne and the next life.
Pieces of exotic lightweight metal were strewn across the Albert Park track. Thankfully, the TV cameras were not following him at the moment of impact, when he was travelling at 200mph approaching turn three.
If they had, nobody would have given a prayer for human life emerging from the wreckage. Instead, the incident was watched backwards: he was seen tottering out of the smash before the re-runs had shown us the collision itself.
Alonso’s first thought was for his mother watching from Oviedo, Spain. ‘I was thinking that I should get out as soon as I could to let her know I was OK,’ he said later.
The horror unfolded on the 17th lap when he was trying to pass the Haas car of Esteban Gutierrez.
Alonso’s right front wheel caught the rear left of Gutierrez, his car hit the Rolex hoarding on the left of the track and did two full rotations across a gravel trap — the second more vertical than the flat first revolution — and ended up pinned against the tyre wall, a crumpled mess and upside down.
Gutierrez, his car far less damaged but still crippled enough to end his participation in this season-opening race, waited for Alonso anxiously. The two then put their arms around each other. Neither apportioned blame.
The double world champion moved gingerly at first but soon found a surer stride and waved to the crowds. He got back to the McLaren motorhome and hugged racing director Eric Boullier. A series of hugging and shaking hands continued for the rest of the day.
It is understood the impact was 46g — an aerobatic display team operate between 9g and 12g — yet he was left with nothing more than bruised knees. The FIA doctors cleared him and not long after Nico Rosberg had sprayed the winner’s champagne he was, of all things, chatting to Timmy Mallett, the one-time children’s TV entertainer who was a VIP guest of McLaren.
"You are not exactly aware where you are. You are just flying and then you see the sky, the ground, the sky, the ground, and you don’t know. When I stopped I saw a little space to get out of the car and I got out quickly. Then I didn’t know where I was because I was so far from the track," said Alonso who missed this race last year after a crash in pre-season testing. ‘
"I had travelled a lot when I was flying. Apart from the pain in my knees from bouncing a lot in the cockpit, I should be okay. I’ll tell you in the morning. You are thankful that you are alive and have no big injuries. But the second thought is the frustration of not finishing the race," he added.
The accident, which caused the action to be red-flagged for 20 minutes, brought to mind Martin Brundle’s serious but marginally less spectacular crash at the same spot in 1996.
Among many other things, Alonso’s survival was testament to the safety improvements in Formula One.
Sir Jackie Stewart, the sport’s original and most determined safety exponent, was in the paddock here.
Alonso could well have raised a glass in the Scotsman’s direction, as well as to the memory of Professor Sid Watkins, who attended to the dying Ayrton Senna at Imola and oversaw a revolution in driver protection during Max Mosley’s presidency of the FIA.
But McLaren have played their part, too. They were the first team to design a carbon-fibre chassis, rather than aluminium ones, in 1981. When their driver John Watson crashed at high speed in Monza that year, the innovation allowed him to walk away.
Even before Alonso went airborne, the race was an entertaining riposte to the doom-laden utterances that greeted the elimination-style qualifying which left the track empty for five minutes at the end of the session on Saturday. The teams, subject to approval from the F1 Commission, have agreed to jettison the format immediately and revert to the old system.
(rnz)
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