Lewis Hamilton's Crash at Spa - Unconscious?

[ajdavison2]

Well obviously I suppose it would differ from person to person, but that's how it is for me personally, but that's a sudden knock out i.e. from a direct impact (hence the comparison), I find being submitted into unconsciousness, from a choke for example is far worse, I would liken that to being put to sleep before an operation, you can feel yourself drifting away, but can't remember actually blacking out. I know this has nothing to do with racing, but I just thought I would drop it in haha . On that note, I was wondering does the HANS device keep the head upright? Because obviously you see drivers doing lateral movement with their heads; checking their mirrors for example, but does it allow vertical movement? Surely a good way to see if he was unconscious would be to see if his head drooped? Just a theory

[wesley123]

Well obviously I suppose it would differ from person to person, but that's how it is for me personally, but that's a sudden knock out i.e. from a direct impact (hence the comparison), I find being submitted into unconsciousness, from a choke for example is far worse,

In on that one, although when hit KO you probably wake up with a huge headache, Im only taking lesson though and for barely 3 months but have been KO twice, had a concussion, probably damaged my knees and can barely walk.

On that note, I was wondering does the HANS device keep the head upright? Because obviously you see drivers doing lateral movement with their heads; checking their mirrors for example, but does it allow vertical movement? Surely a good way to see if he was unconscious would be to see if his head drooped? Just a theory

Yes it probably keeps your head up. I am pretty sure Hamilton or went KO for a while or barely had any idea where he was at the moment, still finding it weird he didnt hit the brakes, he stayed in his car for an awful long time too. At the moment of the crash I just thought the brakes were broken or something.

[mep]

Considering he went into an almost solid wall with a very high speed he must have experienced very high G forces. I am sure his brain got a massive smash against the skull and therefore he lost conscious. Also there was no reaction from him for very long time including that he didn't brake at all.
The hit was probably harder than you would get it in a boxing fight but it is still a good comparison. I don’t want to put boxing down I just think he had to stand higher G’s. Hamilton was out for a long time and maybe he didn't even realise it himself.

[Hangaku]

Considering the actions of the stewards, I would say almost definitely that he didn't react at all to the stewards asking if he was OK, which is why the stewards then motioned for medical assistance.

So the only thing for certain, is that Lewis didn't react to a question. Being the hot-head that he normally is, would tell me that it was due to the fact he was clean out.

[red748]

I think he suffered semi-conciousness, dazed and a
bit confused but lucid enough to remove his steering
wheel and stagger out of the tub.

[Poleman]

Looking at this in-car clip,right after the first impact he actuelly pulls his hands off the steering wheel rather than just drop down as if he was unconsious.I wathed the other clip too in fullscreen many times and the moment before and even after the marschall touches his helmet his head is moving slightly.I would say he was the least dizzy/frustrated from the whole story.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZiV85eC ... re=related[/youtube]

[CHT]

Looking at this in-car clip,right after the first impact he actuelly pulls his hands off the steering wheel rather than just drop down as if he was unconsious.I wathed the other clip too in fullscreen many times and the moment before and even after the marschall touches his helmet his head is moving slightly.I would say he was the least dizzy/frustrated from the whole story.

It hard to tell from this clip if he released his grip intentionally or due to the "knock out". I believe if he was conscious, he would have applied the brake or steer the car to ensure it doesnt sway into the track.

If you look at his left leg, it was not moving at all until he regain conscious.

If mike tyson can be knock out (not black out), I dont see why it cant happen here.

[Jeffsvilleusa]

Looking at this in-car clip,right after the first impact he actuelly pulls his hands off the steering wheel rather than just drop down as if he was unconsious....

I think that would be the momentum carrying his then-limp arms towards himself. Anyway the camera shot ends above the bottom of the steering wheel, so it is impossible to tell.

[Mystery Steve]

As a result of the impact, the wheel was jerked fairly hard in Lewis' hands, which is right before he removes his hands from the wheel - likely to avoid a broken hand or wrist. That's not an uncommon practice to teach drivers in an attempt to avoid injury since you're essentially a passenger once you reach that point. The fact that he lifts his hands up towards his head leads me to believe that it was a conscious decision - not that I'm an expert on human physiology under duress, but it makes intuitive sense to me at least.

And just because he's known for having a temper doesn't mean he is adverse to feeling dejected. He obviously didn't see the incident coming, and then the impact was severe and disorienting. While I do feel he was probably alert, he would at the very least be understandably confused and plausibly taking a moment to collect himself. Regardless of whether I (or anyone) thinks he was alert and conscious after the incident, he should have a thorough medical evaluation as a precaution. Potential brain injuries and concussions are obviously serious, and should be treated as such if there is even a hint of doubt.

[Mandrake]

I'm still confused about the different states of the accident.....

To me it looks like the initial impact came by surprise (obviously ) and when hitting the armco he received a massive hit to his hands via the steering wheel.

I could imagine that taking the hands off was a first reaction to the impact and he possibly had pain in his hands.

What baffles me then is the fact that he never braked at all to avoid the second impact, nor did he try to avoid the tire wall. At first I thought he could even continue the race as all the suspension parts did not get involved in the impact (of course the nosecone and nosecone mountings must have been dead after that....)
Maybe he was paralysed by the pain in his hands unable to to apply brakes and give steering input....but I thought too that he was unconscious moments after the big hit.

[Richard]

I thought it odd that he free wheeled along that barrier without braking.

I wonder if the high-G warning light came on? I couldn't see it in the replay.

[beelsebob]

I thought it odd that he free wheeled along that barrier without braking.

I wonder if the high-G warning light came on? I couldn't see it in the replay.

It didn't – if it did, the stewards would have made hamilton stay in the car.

[Muulka]

Wasn't Massa downshifting after being hit by Barichello's spring in Hungary '09? From looking at the onboard cameras I'd say that Hamilton was mainly concious, but probably had short periods of unconsciousness. Certainly he seemed dazed when getting out of the car- normally they jump out, but Lewis takes it really slowly.

[raymondu999]

He didn't. Massa was on full throttle on the run up to Turn 4 in Hungary, then as the spring came, he applied full brake. So both feet were fully planted in the pedals. The brakes are more powerful than the engine in such a situation. At no time did he downshift

[beelsebob]

He didn't. Massa was on full throttle on the run up to Turn 4 in Hungary, then as the spring came, he applied full brake. So both feet were fully planted in the pedals. The brakes are more powerful than the engine in such a situation. At no time did he downshift

I was under the impression that there was a deadman switch that caused the engine to automatically drop revs if both pedals were depressed heavily for a significant length of time.