McLaren's accident ~ Fernando Alonso tweets from hospital !

Accidents are not uncommon in Sporting World, especially in Sports where speed is the essence.  The Spaniard, 33  had CT and MRI scans, with a “thumbs-up” picture of him appearing in Twitter today from his hospital bed in Catalonia putting  paid to rumours of his health condition. He has been given the all-clear by doctors but remains in hospital recovering.  The Sporting World is feeling relieved.  Cars can reach speeds of 150mph at that point on the track, although Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who was following at the time of the crash, said his rival's speed was more like 90mph.

F1 or the  FIA Formula One World Championship  is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).   The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply.  The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning great prizes), held throughout the world on purpose-built circuits and public roads. Formula One cars are the fastest road course racing cars in the world, owing to very high cornering speeds achieved through the generation of large amounts of aerodynamic downforce. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to 360 km/h (220 mph) with engines currently limited in performance to a maximum of 15,000 RPM.   While Europe is the sport's traditional base, and hosts about half of each year's races, the sport's scope has expanded significantly and an increasing number of Grands Prix are held on other continents.

Fernando Alonso Díaz (1981 born),  a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion who will be racing for McLaren-Honda in 2015 is in news for wrong reasons.   From Karting world championship, he made his Formula One debut in the 2001 season with Minardi, and then moved to the Renault as a test driver the next year. Starting in 2003 Alonso then became one of the main drivers of the team.  Nicknamed El Nano, a typical pseudonym for Fernando in Asturias, his place of birth, Alonso acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. With his fourth place finish in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix, scoring his 1,571st career point, Alonso took over the record for most championship points in his career.

The McLaren driver, 33, was  taken from track by ambulance and then to hospital after being involved in a crash at speeds of up to 150mph. The Spaniard was then airlifted by helicopter for treatment of concussion.  A look at the damaged car may not give one any confidence; the rash was on the final day of the Formula One pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Amidst rumours of serious injuries, McLaren said the two-time former world champion was 'conscious and able to speak' while receiving first aid at the circuit's medical centre, but had been taken to hospital for 'precautionary checks'. After several hours of tests and observation, the team later added that Alonso was 'uninjured' but had suffered concussion in the accident.  The Spaniard crashed after completing 20 laps. The accident occurred at turn three, when Alonso went off course and the right-hand side of his car hit the wall. Neither the team nor track officials have reported the cause. 

As McLaren rubbished spurious suggestions that Alonso had been unconscious due to ill health or electrical shock before his accident, the team said that they remained unclear if he would take part in the final engagement of the winter, starting on Thursday. They also blamed “unpredictably gusty winds” at the 150mph corner for the crash which left Alonso concussed, confirming that there had been no mechanical failure.

Alonso has 32 career grand prix victories, the last of which came at Montmelo in 2013. No decision has yet been made on his participation in the third and final round of pre-season testing, which begins later this week. A photo of a smiling Alonso sitting up in his hospital bed was posted on social media by his manager. It was accompanied by the message: "Lunch time! Thank you for your support!"

Alonso left Ferrari at the end of last season, negotiating an exit from his contract two years early, because he believed McLaren and new engine partner Honda gave him a better chance of winning a third world title. But McLaren's preparations have been troubled, with repeated engine reliability problems restricting their mileage in testing.  The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive.  In 1998, it set the record for the world's fastest production car, reaching 231 mph (372 km/h) with the rev limiter enabled, and 243 mph (391 km/h) with the rev limiter removed.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24^th Feb 2015.