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| Pastor Maldonado crashed in the same place in 2014/ |
With Fernando Alonso still in the hospital under observation and talk of his missing the final pre season test, McLaren's official explanations don't satisfy.
McLaren issued a press release blaming the accident on a sudden gust of wind and categorically denying there was any mechanical or electrical issues with the car. McLaren should have done this immediately after the accident rather than wait for people to come up with their own explanations.
Not that the official version completely satisfies all questions, especially since F1 teams are notoriously unreliable when it comes to admitting technical failures.
Sudden gusts of wind are indeed common at the Circuit de Catalunya yet the photographer who took the only know pictures of the crash said that at that moment the wind was not strong.McLaren said the wind gust blew Alonso onto the Astroturf (in a somewhat similar dynamic to Maldonado's practice accident last season) yet the same photographer claims the McLaren never put a wheel off on the outside.
Others are wondering why there is only one tire skid mark. Is that an indication of a possible brake by wire issue?If it was just a "normal testing crash", why did Alonso stay inside the cockpit for 20 minutes and had to be sedated?
If it was not a mechanical issue, why did McLaren stop Button who was scheduled for the afternoon?
The one guy who saw better than anyone was Vettel of course who was right behind. He saw Alonso just turn into the wall. "It was strange" he said.
Yes, strange indeed.
I wonder if F1 might consider mandating concrete walls be protected by Safer barriers as NASCAR did for Daytona's inside wall after Kyle Busch's crash. If a relatively slow speed hit in what might possibly be the safest racing car designed by man can put a racer out of commission then, perhaps, it's time to act.
