McLaren driver Fernando Alonso has been airlifted to a hospital following a crash during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. The two-time world champion hit the wall on the exit of Turn Three, one of Formula 1’s most demanding corners that regularly see speeds in excess of 240kmph.
Immediately after the crash the circuit and McLaren confirmed he was “OK and conscious” but was being airlifted for precautionary checks. Alonso’s adviser Luis Garcia Abad also added on Twitter that the driver was “OK”. The Spaniard had CT and MRI scans that were both clear but was due to be kept in hospital for 24 hours.
Tough week for the whole team, but we’ll be back & pushing hard next week. Day 4 Report here: https://t.co/5Db0YBwB8E pic.twitter.com/QLWw7IYQTu
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 22, 2015
It is unclear whether Alonso made a mistake or something broke on the car.
Race director Eric Boullier was quick in quashing any speculation about what caused the crash, writing on the McLaren website: “Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing.”Fortunately, he’s fine, but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion.
“Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident – it was just a normal testing accident.”
Alonso rejoined McLaren from Ferrari at the end of last year to enhance his chances of winning a third title, but the team have been beset by problems in testing. In Jerez this month they managed a mere 12 laps in the opening two days and since Thursday in Barcelona they have had problems because of a faulty seal on one of the car’s engine recovery systems.
“While the car wasn’t particularly badly damaged, it was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated. It’s been a tough week for the whole team, but we’ll be back, and pushing harder than ever, in Barcelona next week,” Boullier added.