When was this, during the Aus GP? I recall Rosberg being tucked up behind Vettel before the crash/red flag..
Surprised it was problems with his chest, rather than the remains of a concussion, etc. I'm sure Webber once raced with broken ribs for example.
He's not OK to race, in the GP Drivers Press Conference, he said he still has issues with his ribs, hard to sleep.. Ribs are damaged and any more injury to the ribs could lead to possible punctured lung, no rumours this time, just a good decision made in light of the possible risks involved.
Huge opportunity for Vandoorne then. A direct comparison with the man whose seat he'd like to take next year. It's not Button's best track either. Tough ask of course with no preparation, but if he does well...
He does at least have experience of the track, did he do much testing over the winter with McLaren or did BUT/ALO do all of it?
Strange we hear of fractured ribs and punctured lungs now. He left the hospital after Australia and they said he was fine. Alonso must be the most beaten up driver in history
Hope he is better soon. Will be good to see Vandoorne and what he can do. Hopefully he can keep his head, keep it on the track and that he and Jensen have reliability. Looking forward to seeing live Channel 4 coverage.
I've put myself down for a Lewis win, but I really want to see him under pressure this year, so fingers crossed for either Rosberg or Vettel.
The beginning of the end was the day he signed a contract with McLaren. I remember still denying it on here long after it had become assumed because i just couldn't imagine why the most respected driver in the sport would jump on board what was already a sinking ship then (of course in hindsight they now look like the glory years).
I wouldn't be surprised to see him announce his retirement in the near future. His prospects at McLaren look bleak to put it mildly, he has limited options elsewhere, and now he's suffered two racing injuries in what, 13 months? And had to miss at least two grands prix. He must surely be questioning whether it's worth it any more.
There does feel an inevitability about him retiring without an opportunity to fight for another title (same for Button). However Ferrari made considerable gains from their disastrous 2014 and Honda will eventually do the same-they've just gone the long and stubborn way about it rather than just draft in a few Merc engineers to collaborate with to speed up the improvements. Prodromou will get the aero right too so it's not all bleak and they have some good things in place. It needs to be quicker though and the question is whether Alonso and Button have that time. We will know more about McLaren later this season but we did say that last year too.
What he obviously doesn't want to do is leave before a sudden upturn in performance, much like Mercedes 2013 to their drastic performance increase in 2014. Watching a young driver (potentially his or Button's replacement in the near future) in his car in Bahrain won't do much good for his confidence though.
Mclaren's best hope is the next rule change, but time is running out for that to be agreed. I can see the 2017 regs taking til 2018 to arrive. Shame the top LMP1 teams don't have any vacancies right now.
