McLaren need to release the data in full. They are the ones who have been very coy on what happened. Bearing in mind the issue with the seals Honda had in testing, it would be no surprise if it was an electrical issue, though what difference does it make to the other teams if it was? Has not happened to any other driver/team/engine combination and should McLaren have allowed Alonso on track in the first place when they knew there were issues with seals on the units that had prevented running before and the replacement parts had not been tested?
There is an interesting article on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/31732315 . One thing I had not read before was: 'Alonso was in a confused state when he regained consciousness, to the extent that he did not know he was a Formula 1 driver or why he was in the car.'
But you can bet they would all turn up hoping to be the only ones so that they can win and get the prize money
How would it be waking up thinking you were a Ferrari Driver competing for championships but sitting in a banged up mclaren, the team you have bad blood with since 2007. And why is Vettel driving your car with your number on it
The extent of memory loss (and we still have no evidence it has been fully recovered) would indicate a fundamental issue - the big question still hangs - was it a result of the impact of the cause of the impact?
Actually very spooky. Will Alonso also sit out the first two races, come back and do two more, declare the car a load of rubbish and retire rather than drive it?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/fears-grow-fernando-alonso-never-5281023 It's only a red-top printing this story. Wait and see whether it's the usual crap or have they got a scoop?
In a similar vain... A mystery of three seconds Although several media outfits, including Sky Italia and Spain’s El Mundo are still not convinced that the electric shock theory is dead, first informations from F1’s second most credible source after Ron Dennis – the FIA – deny that Alonso could have been zapped by the car’s high capacity batteries. Although El Mundo claims that the Honda PU has only three safety mechanisms to safeguard its electric systems, as opposed to five on the competing designs, it would still take failure of all three for Alonso to receive an electric shock. According to FIA this hasn’t happen as the indicator shows all electric systems in operation as long as the car moves and switches to green ten seconds after the car has become stationary. Immediately after the accident Sebastian Vettel, who was driving behind Alonso, had reported that it had not looked like an accident. At a suspected speed of about 150kph Alonso seemed to veer right suddenly. The German called the scene “strange”. After he had been to the McLaren garage, he changed his tune, claiming he had not been close enough to see more than the end of the accident. An analysis of the so far available FIA data done by Auto Motor und Sport, however, confirms Vettel’s initial version. The telemetry shows that Alonso enters the Renault corner at a speed of 215kph, which Sky Britain had falsely reported as the speed at which Alonso had lost control of the car. At the corner entry Alonso applied full breaking power and shifted down three times, decelerating the car to a speed of 135kph, close to the speed that Vettel had estimated. The reasons for Alonso’s sudden deceleration are unclear, however such a strong breaking manoeuvre would not be needed in case of aerodynamic interference by wind. At a speed at 135kph the car sharply changes direction towards the inside of the corner by direct steering input from the driver, who from that point on is no longer in control of the car. After veering right, the car travels towards the wall in a time of three seconds where it impacts at a speed of 105 kph. During those 3 seconds between leaving the normal racing line and hitting the wall, the driver appears to take no measures to avert or lessen the severity of the impact, as manifested by the absence of any further steering input and the fact that the car loses a mere 30kph of speed in that time. McLaren insist they cannot say what had happened in those three seconds and the man who could has no recollection of the event. Ron Dennis admitted that Alonso had lost consciousness for a short time, but did not specify whether that was before or after the impact. It appears that the solution to the mystery lies within those three seconds between veering off and impacting the wall, but so far nobody is able to tell what happened. This could well explain Alonso’s prolonged hospital stay and his cancelling of the Australia start. If the Spaniard suffered any medical condition that rendered him unconscious before the impact, as the data seem to suggest, it would be irresponsible to to return, before it has been found out what it was.
