Pre-Season Testing Has Started

[Kewee]

Do they play Emmerdale in the hospital for Fernando and Rafael too.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I can't imagine the Spanish equivalent of the NHS is picking up the tab for this so all the time McLaren are willing to pay I reckon Fernando can stay put.

Private room, lovely nurses, bed baths, I wouldn't want to leave either....

 

[teabagyokel]

We'll see exactly who turns up for the third test, wonder if Button will do the first two days...?

I hope Kevin Magnussen has accounted for any wirecutters he owns.

 

[Bill Boddy]

No RasputinLives, it is my wife who is. I keep her company, frequently reading a book but I do catch some of it. And yes, there was a thread about someone who was castigated although it turned out that it was not her fault and she had done nothing wrong.

When Eastenders comes on I make an excuse and leave.

Edit to correct speilonf misstook and add "wrong" to make right.

 

[Andyoak]

I thought I read castrated... Put the whole dine nothing into a different perspective

 

[sushifiesta]

Force India's 2015 car won't arrive until Friday morning, so at most they'll only have Friday afternoon and the weekend with the new car before Melbourne.

 

[cider_and_toast]

And that's banking on the fact that it runs without any problems.

 

[Dartman]

Without speculating as to the cause or the extent of his injuries, Alonso still being in hospital three and a half days after the incident with a car apparently only lightly damaged. The reported speed was low, there seems to be very little damage to the tub or deformable structure from the photographs and that originally McLaren stated the car would run in the afternoon, should the tub have been damaged it would have been obvious.
So we have a few guesses, there was a car problem that injured him, he has a medical problem that manifested itself whilst driving or his personal protection equipment was sadly lacking, but whatever it is/was it wasn't simple concussion, but it may be concussion plus X.
There is actually no need for either McLaren or his management team to inform us of real events or his medical condition, even as a high public profile person. But it would be nice to know whether he will drive this season or again as an F1 driver. The Kubica saga went on for a few years and his injuries were well known though his recovery bulletins to the press were varied.

 

[Dartman]

Typical, hardly is the cyber ink dry on my post and he's out.

 

[marksawatsky]

I think Alonso is so bothered by the the idea of having another season in a lackluster car, that he intentionally crashed so he doesn't have to drive that car any more

 

[Incubus]

How many times do we see drivers walking away without a scratch from what appear to be horrific crashes where the car shatters itself to bits?
These more often than not are not the worst crashes. because cars disintegrating homogeneously mean they've done the job they were designed to do i.e absorbing the impact.

It often is when the car is left mostly intact after a crash that causes injuries, because it means it's been left to the driver's body to absorb the impact.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

He's not taking part in the final test sessions though.

 

[Dartman]

How many times do we see drivers walking away without a scratch from what appear to be horrific crashes where the car shatters itself to bits?
These more often than not are not the worst crashes. because cars disintegrating homogeneously mean they've done the job they were designed to do i.e absorbing the impact.

It often is when the car is left mostly intact after a crash that causes injuries, because it means it's been left to the driver's body to absorb the impact.

Yes, but they are designed to crumple at certain G forces to protect the driver, so if it didn't crumple it didn't experience the G force, or the car is too strong and doesn't comply, In F1 terms too strong is too heavy, so hardly the case

 

[Dash Racing]

Or the directionality was an issue. Some structural members are stronger in compression (like those in suspension), than other parts.

 

[FB]

Witness how Schumie used to bang wheels with one and all and never come out with a broken suspension.

 

[Il_leone]

Button suddenly might be thrusted into No 1 position now that Alonso is not fully fit

 

[Kewee]

Alonso and Button were never No1 and No 2. Ron Dennis made it clear when he signed Alonso both drivers would be treated equally and that was all Alonso expected.

 

[Dario Resta]

Alonso and Button were never No1 and No 2. Ron Dennis made it clear when he signed Alonso both drivers would be treated equally and that was all Alonso expected.

Ron never makes anything clear.....

 

[Kewee]

And no matter how often Alonso says he only wants to be treated equally no one believes him.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I believe that but it depends in what context you place that statement. As a minimum, for example.

Is he looking from the top down, or the bottom up?

It's easy for a driver who assumes (and we do as well) that he will be the quicker of the two, to say "I want equal treatment" because he knows he's going to get it. Looking at it from a slower drivers point of view, as long as what Alonso is getting is the same as what he is getting then it's all fine and dandy, but once the points start getting banked and as we know, points mean prizes then the quicker driver will get the better parts, the newer bits etc. That's the nature of the F1 beast.

So, yeah, of course Alonso can say, he wants to be treated equally but to paraphrase George Orwell, all top drivers are equal but some are more equal than others.