So Mclaren confirmed that he suffered a temporary memory loss:
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/24184 ... in-testing , but not to the extent that was reported by the sources which say it lasted for a week or two.
Personally, I don't think something was wrong with the car, but something seems fishy regarding Fernando's condition:
- Car veered inexplicably to the right
- Ron said that the medical exams didn't show a concussion, yet the symptoms suggested one
- Fernando won't be with the team in Australia
The only thing that puts everything together is Fernando having a moment in the car. Either he passes out, or his temporary memory loss was not caused by the crash, but was the cause of the crash. Some reports said that he was very agitated when marshals got to him and he did not know where he was, nor what he was doing in an F1 car. That would explain basically everything, including the need to keep him out of the spotlights for now (until they figure out what happened) and the cause of the crash. How would one of the best drivers on the grid, in what was reported to be a mechanically sound car (shown by the fact that they were confident to send out Button the next day), lose control and not have any coherent reaction, other than throwing it into the wall? This is in line with the team's statements throughout (Alonso was conscious before the crash; He is ok, but not coming to Australia) and Vettel's recollection of the events.
My timeline would be this:
- Alonso enters T3 fully committed, going faster than his any other run for the day
- Has his loss of memory, either because of G forces or something else
- Gust of wind or not, his reactions are now those of a 13-year old kart racer, so he can't do more than clumsily park it into the wall
- Gets taken to the hospital, they see the symptoms of a concussion, but the medical tests don't show one (confirmed by Ron)
Tinfoil hat or not, Mclaren were hiding something before yesterday, when they had to confirm the reports of memory loss, as they were already out there. So it's not like they said everything they knew from the beginning, but rather reacted to what the media found out.
Obviously the other teams are trying to milk this as much as possible and try to force Mclaren Honda to reveal as much information as possible.