Alonso's Crash

[SectorOne]

Does show however that releasing telemetry would not have helped the slightest since there was not a sensor in the steering wheel. We would have been debating back and forth without getting any wiser.

We definitely would have seen the steering trace being locked to the right.
Not the force but the angle undoubtedly.

So when Mclaren puts out a press release saying it was the wind, we all would point at that saying what the hell is this then?
The wind theory can be buried now. Something happened with the steering, Alonso was fine throughout the whole crash, no black out, no electrocution, just some kind of fault with the steering rack.

I´m finally happy with the information regarding this crash, not sure about you guys.

[UglyTroll]

Seems highly unlikely to not have steering sensors in an F1 car or to not be able to see that the there was a problem with it after the crash.

[Tim.Wright]

Seems highly unlikely to not have steering sensors in an F1 car or to not be able to see that the there was a problem with it after the crash.

Depends where the problem was and where the steering torque sensor is.

If the seizure in the steering system is upstream of the torque sensor (towards the driver) then it wont read the driver's applied torque. In the case of a siezed steering system the data would appear to show the driver holding the steering at a constant angle and torque, even if he is trying to force it the other way.

Fernando somewhat alludes to this in the press conference:

"Also the acquisition of date on that particular part of the car is not at the top so there are some new sensors here at this race"

Most power assisted steering systems have a torque sensor on the pinion shaft in between the steering column attachment and the rack. In this case it means the seizure in the system would have been right at the input of the pinion or in the column.

Though its also possible that the F1 systems have a different layout with the steering torque sensor somewhere else such as on the rack.

I assume that McLaren have now put a sensor on the column to make sure they are measuring the drivers torque and not any frictions in the steering system.

[Manoah2u]

some kind of fault with the steering rack.

which makes this accident eerily more similar to Senna's crash

In any case, glad Alonso sorted out all the hype and fables around this incident.

Unfortunately, i'm sure the 'conspiracy addicts' will claim something like Alonso was told by the Mclaren
media puppeteers that he was supposed to say all this and that they took a long time to make up the
best story.....

anyway, very happy we'll see Alonso race come weekend. Also hoping Mclaren has improved their game after
the discoveries and data they collected 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks more of development and a full race weekend
of data to process.

[Flanker27]

"Even a hurricane would not move the car at that speed"

that's for all the supposed "experts" that defended McLaren statement...

[turbof1]

"Even a hurricane would not move the car at that speed"

that's for all the supposed "experts" that defended McLaren statement...

Also for the ones telling he was traveling too slow. He is effectively stating that his speed was high enough that the car produced more then enough downforce, that even if the wind corrupted the airflow, the remaining amount of downforce would still have been enough to keep the car stable.

[mertol]

Having extra downforce would imply he is not on the limit which is the same as traveling too slow

[turbof1]

Having extra downforce would imply he is not on the limit which is the same as traveling too slow

Can also just mean that he has more downforce then needed to go full throttle through the corner.

[mertol]

He could reach nearly 300km/h if he goes full throttle the whole turn. Then again he only has a honda engine...

[turbof1]

He could reach nearly 300km/h if he goes full throttle the whole turn. Then again he only has a honda engine...

I think that is probably the case, having his engine detuned resulted in slower acceleration, allowing him just to push in the throttle pedal. Again it could mean he had more then enough grip to even compensate for wind.

But alas, I think the comments from Alonso will be one the last ones in this story. Perhaps the fia has something to add down the road, but I doubt it.

[Phil]

"Even a hurricane would not move the car at that speed"

that's for all the supposed "experts" that defended McLaren statement...

I wish this whole wind stuff would stop. No one (AFAIK) ever suggested that wind actually blew the car off the circuit and into the wall. That is pretty pointless. The only argument wind ever had was that it might have been a factor, given that high winds were reported by various drivers during that day of testing and similarly to driving a car on the road, strong side winds will force a driver to make (subtle) corrections. When a car is traveling at high speeds, even small corrections can lead to getting of the ideal line by significant margins - significant in the context that on a quick lap, the margins at which a driver will use the confinement of the track would be already close to the limit.

Think of it as driving on the highway with strong side winds and then passing a truck or bus. Before you pass it, you will be correcting against the direction where the wind is coming from - then as you pass it, you will have to counter that because suddenly there will be little to no wind as the large object is shielding it, only to again having to correct against it once you move out of the wind shelter (or what ever you call it in english). That's as far as what bursts of winds can feel like. No it won't blow you off the track, but it won't be unnoticable.

[Thunder]

Maurice Hamilton's take on it:

http://en.espnf1.com/blogs/motorsport/story/195605.html

[turbof1]

"Even a hurricane would not move the car at that speed"

that's for all the supposed "experts" that defended McLaren statement...

I wish this whole wind stuff would stop. No one (AFAIK) ever suggested that wind actually blew the car off the circuit and into the wall. That is pretty pointless. The only argument wind ever had was that it might have been a factor, given that high winds were reported by various drivers during that day of testing and similarly to driving a car on the road, strong side winds will force a driver to make (subtle) corrections. When a car is traveling at high speeds, even small corrections can lead to getting of the ideal line by significant margins - significant in the context that on a quick lap, the margins at which a driver will use the confinement of the track would be already close to the limit.

Think of it as driving on the highway with strong side winds and then passing a truck or bus. Before you pass it, you will be correcting against the direction where the wind is coming from - then as you pass it, you will have to counter that because suddenly there will be little to no wind as the large object is shielding it, only to again having to correct against it once you move out of the wind shelter (or what ever you call it in english). That's as far as what bursts of winds can feel like. No it won't blow you off the track, but it won't be unnoticable.

It was never claimed that the wind caused the crash on its own. I think that's a big misconception; the story was that he went wide, drove over the slippery astroturf which made his car loose all grip. He then tried to counter steer with the car suddenly regaining grip and launching the barrier.

Of course that was the story. It looks now even more like a mess. When did his steering lock happen? Before, after or during when he went wide? Or when he drove over the astroturf??

I think my nose just started bleeding from popping a vain somewhere around my brain... .

[Phil]

Yes, Turbo, that's exactly what I'm saying, hence why I find the hurricane comment nothing more but a joke and in reference to what perhaps some media interpreted as they overexergated the wind theory. I'd be quite surprised if any "experts" in this topic ever made such assumptions, nor did McLaren when they voiced the presumption that wind could have played a role. I like to think that here on F1T we have a bit more common sense than that.

[turbof1]

Yes, Turbo, that's exactly what I'm saying, hence why I find the hurricane comment nothing more but a joke and in reference to what perhaps some media interpreted as they overexergated the wind theory. I'd be quite surprised if any "experts" in this topic ever made such assumptions, nor did McLaren when they voiced the presumption that wind could have played a role. I like to think that here on F1T we have a bit more common sense than that.

I'm not going to make comments on that last line, although its itching .

Well, I think the most important thing we got to know is that Alonso fully recovered and is ready to race. If he ever had 7 tenths, I think mclaren will desperately need them now.